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REMINISCENCES 

and 

COMMENTS 


IKE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

OHMEBSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


/ 


REMINISCENCES 

and 

COMMENTS 


THE  IMMIGRANT 

THE  CITIZEN 

A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 

THE  JEW 

by 

ADOLF  KRAUS 


"No  fathers  or  mothers  think  their  own  children 
ugly;  and  this  self -deceit  is  yet  stronger  with 
respect  to  the  offspring  of  the  mind." 

Cervantes. 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS,  U.S.A. 
MCMXXV 


Copyright  1925 
By  Adolf  Kraus 

Second  Printing 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 

Toby  Rubovits  Inc. 

Chicago 


3 
2         Mi*  I 


^ 


TO  MY  WIFE 

and 

OUR  CHILDREN 


602125 


PREFACE 


"In  every  work  regard  the  writer's  end, 
Since  none  can  compass  more  than  they  intend." 

Pope. 

I  did  not  intend  to  write  a  book.  If  I  had  so  in- 
tended, and  thereby  assumed  the  requisite  literary 
quality,  I  must  of  necessity  have  chosen  a  more  inter- 
esting subject.  It  was  begun  innocently  enough  at 
the  suggestion  of  a  friend  that  some  reminiscences  I 
was  relating  should  be  preserved  in  writing.  From 
such  innocent  beginning  the  present  volume  has  grown 
during  the  year  or  more  I  have  now  and  then  been 
engaged  in  writing  it.  Having  thus  assembled  the 
incidents,  haphazard  though  they  be,  which  mark  the 
course  and  reveal  the  character  of  a  more  or  less  active 
life,  no  other  course  seemed  so  appropriate  as  to  put 
them  in  book  form — if  for  no  other  reason  than  the 
one  advanced  by  Lord  Byron : 

"Tis  pleasant  sure  to  see  one's  name  in  print; 
A  book's  a  book,  although  there's  nothing  in  't." 

It  may  be,  however,  that  the  reader  will  see  between 
these  lines,  which  have  been  written  with  no  other 
purpose  or  aspiration  than  to  set  down  in  a  straight- 
forward way  the  simple  facts,  what  has  never  been 
absent  from  my  mind  in  the  writing  of  them.  He  may 
see  America  in  a  brighter  light  as  the  land  of  blessed 
freedom,  of  equal  opportunity,  where  every  man, 
whether  native  bred  or  foreign  born  and  regardless  of 

Xi 


xii  PREFACE 

race  or  creed,  may  strive  on  equal  terms  with  every 
other  man  for  the  blessings  she  gives  in  abundance  to 
him  who  labors  in  her  fertile  fields  of  endeavor  and 
keepeth  her  laws.  And  thus  seeing,  he  may  have  a 
clearer  vision  of  the  spirit  that  has  made  America  great, 
and  which  so  long  only  as  it  continues  to  be  her  domi- 
nant guide,  will  keep  her  great.  If  this  end  is  even 
partially  attained  I  shall  feel  justified.  In  publishing 
this  book  I  have  no  other  hope  and  claim  no  other 
justification. 

Adolf  Kraus. 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  IMMIGRANT 


I 

THE  IMMIGRANT 

In  the  year  1840  the  city  of  Blowitz,  Bohemia,  in- 
cluded in  its  population  perhaps  a  larger  percentage  of 
very  poor  Jews  than  any  other  city  in  Austria-Hungary. 
This  fact  was  due,  in  part  at  least,  to  governmental 
restriction  of  the  rights  of  Jews  in  Austria  prior  to  1848- 
They  were  not  allowed  to  own  any  land;  they  were 
excluded  from  most  of  the  trades,  and  were  denied  the 
right  to  practice  any  of  the  professions  except  that  of 
physician.  What  would  now  be  considered  a  very 
small  sum  would  at  that  time  have  been  deemed  a 
fortune  in  Blowitz  by  some  of  these  very  poor,  op- 
pressed people. 

One  Saturday  afternoon  Avrum  Hartman  and  Itzik 
Fischel  were  standing  in  the  public  square.  As  they 
stood  there  Moishe  Fuchs  passed  by  without  deigning 
to  notice  them  with  any  sort  of  a  greeting. 

"Look",  said  Avrum,  "at  that  'chates'  Moishe.  He 
acts  as  though  he  did  not  want  to  know  us." 

"No  wonder  he  acts  that  way,"  replied  Itzik.  "He 
is  now  a  rich  man.  If  he  is  worth  one  'Kreutzer'  he  is 
worth  four  hundred  'Gulden  schein'."     ($96.00). 

"What!  Four  hundred  'Gulden  schein', "  said  Avrum. 
"I  wish  the  good  God  would  give  me  what  Moishe  is 
worth  less  than  four  hundred  'Gulden  schein'."  (A 
"Gulden  gold"  was  equal  to  forty  cents;  a  "Gulden 
schein" — paper — only  twenty  four  cents). 

In  this  city  of  Blowitz,  in  the  year  1840,  among  these 
surroundings  and  with  all  the  discouragements  for  him 


4  REMINISCENCES 

and  his  kind  that  grew  out  of  the  conditions  and  re- 
strictions under  which  they  were  obliged  to  exist,  lived 
Jonas  Kraus.  Not  far  away,  near  the  City  of  Radnitz, 
at  this  time  lived  Joachim  Ehrlich,  with  his  wife  and 
children.  Ludmila,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Joachim, 
had  many  admirers  as  a  tribute  to  her  personal  charms, 
by  reason  of  which  she  was  known  and  admired  as  the 
prettiest  girl  in  the  district.  Among  these  many  ad- 
mirers was  Jonas  Kraus,  of  the  city  of  Blowitz.  Jonas, 
being  of  manly  presence  and  coming  from  the  city, 
soon  eliminated  all  rivals  and  after  the  usual  happy 
courtship  became  Ludmila's  husband. 

After  their  marriage  the  young  couple  embarked 
upon  the  sea  of  fortune  by  starting  a  bakery.  The 
business  did  not  prosper.  They  were  able  to  earn 
barely  enough  to  take  care  of  the  needs  of  themselves 
and  the  little  family  that  came  to  them  as  time  went 
on.  Unable  to  save  anything  and  seeing  only  a  gloomy 
prospect  ahead  for  himself  and  his  loved  ones,  Jonas, 
having  heard  and  read  of  that  wonderful  country 
across  the  sea,  after  much  thought  and  many  mis- 
givings, decided  that  he  would  there  seek  a  home  for 
himself  and  his  family,  and  set  sail  for  America.  So 
well  did  Jonas  achieve  in  America  that  after  two  years 
he  returned  to  his  family,  bringing  with  him  the  sav- 
ings of  his  labor.  His  fortune  consisted  of  four  hundred 
dollars  in  gold,  which  for  safety  upon  his  return  journey 
he  had  sewed  in  the  lining  of  his  clothes.  Four  hundred 
dollars  represented  close  to  seventeen  hundred  "  Gulden 
schein,"  which  at  that  time  was  considered  in  Bohemia 
as  placing  Jonas  in  the  class  of  the  "  fairly  well  to  do." 
The  assurance  that  came  from  the  possession  of  this 
fortune,  and  the  strength  of  home  ties,  held  Jonas  to 


Home  of  My  Parents  in  Rokycan,  Bohemia 


THE  IMMIGRANT  5 

the  land  of  his  birth  and  the  proposed  removal  of  his 
family  to  America  was  abandoned. 

Shortly  after  his  return  from  America  Jonas  Kraus 
with  his  family  moved  to  Rokycan,  a  city  of  about  five 
thousand  inhabitants,  where  he  purchased  a  one  story 
stone  building  containing  a  small  store  and  three 
rooms.  In  the  rear  of  the  building  was  a  stable  large 
enough  for  two  cows.  The  shelves  of  the  store  build- 
ing were  fairly  well  filled  with  dry  goods,  purchased 
largely  on  credit,  and  while  Jonas  Kraus  never  accumu- 
lated much  worldly  goods  his  prosperity  was  such  that 
his  family  had  the  rare,  and  what  was  then  considered 
luxurious,  experience  of  enjoying  meat  for  dinner  each 
day.  Three  years  after  his  return  from  America  he 
had  saved  up  enough  to  buy  a  few  acres  of  land  out- 
side the  city  limits  of  Rokycan,  on  which  potatoes  and 
wheat  were  grown.  On  these  acres  a  cow  also  was 
kept  and  the  family  had  fresh  milk  every  day.  To  the 
union  of  Jonas  Kraus  and  Ludmila  Ehrlich  three  sons 
were  born, — Marcus,  Adolf,  and  Albert.  Adolf,  the 
second  son,  is  the  writer  of  these  lines. 

Rokycan  is  a  Czechish  city.  When  my  family  moved 
there,  there  were  two  German  Gentile  families  and 
eight  Jewish  families  in  Rokycan.  Later  on  the  num- 
ber of  Jewish  families  increased  slightly  and  among 
the  newcomers  were  the  parents  of  the  writer's  mother. 
In  the  Jewish  families  German  as  well  as  Czechish  was 
spoken.  My  eldest  brother  Marcus  was  taken  to 
America  when  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age  by  an  uncle 
whose  home  was  in  New  York. 

The  schools  in  Rokycan  were  Czechish,  but  some 
instruction  in  German  was  compulsory.  When  I  at- 
tended the  fourth  grammar  grade  a  subject  was  given 


6  REMINISCENCES 

to  the  boys  each  week  upon  which  they  were  required 
to  write  an  essay  in  German.  It  so  happened  that  in 
my  class  I  was  the  only  boy  who  could  speak  German, 
and  yet  my  essays  came  back  each  time  marked  "  Bad, " 
"Very  Bad,"  or  " Miserable."  The  best  mark  I  ever 
received  was  "  Bad. "  I  was  small  and  young  and  this  ex- 
perience so  discouraged  me  that  one  evening  when  I  was 
trying  to  write  another  German  essay  my  mother  found 
me  crying,  and  motherlike  inquired  the  reason.  I  told 
her  how  hard  I  had  tried  and  how  useless  it  seemed, — 
the  teacher  always  found  them  either  bad  or  miserable. 
Mother  said,  "Try  once  more,  my  son.  Maybe  you 
will  do  better  this  time."  The  next  day  she  presented 
the  teacher  with  two  very  fine  silk  handkerchiefs.  This 
time  the  essay  came  back  marked,  "Excellent.  If  you 
keep  on  so  improving  it  will  be  a  source  of  great  joy  to 
your  mother."  After  that  the  poorest  mark  I  ever 
received  from  that  teacher  was  "Very  Good." 

The  Director  of  the  public  schools  in  Rokycan  was 
the  Catholic  priest  of  the  city.  One  day  while  I  was 
walking  in  a  small  park  belonging  to  the  city  one  of 
my  schoolmates  threw  a  stone  and  hit  me  on  the  head. 
When  I  came  home  my  clothes  were  spattered  with 
blood.  In  answer  to  my  mother's  anxious  inquiries  I 
related  what  had  happened.  She  washed  me,  bandaged 
the  wound,  took  me  to  the  Director  of  the  schools  and 
lodged  complaint  against  the  boy  who  threw  the  stone. 
Next  day  the  Director  came  to  the  school  and  called 
the  boy  who  threw  the  stone  to  the  teacher's  desk.  In 
those  days  corporal  punishment  was  the  rule  in  schools. 
There  were  two  kinds  of  punishment  inflicted,  one  by 
the  teacher  for  slight  offenses,  the  other  by  the  janitor 
who,  when  ordered  by  the  teacher,  struck  the  boy  on 


THE  IMMIGRANT  7 

the  hands,  in  the  presence  of  the  entire  class,  with  a 
switch  two,  four,  or  six  times,  depending  upon  the 
nature  of  the  offense.  The  priest  asked  the  boy  why 
he  threw  the  stone,  and  without  hesitation  the  boy 
replied  that  he  saw  me  destroying  shrubbery  in  the 
park,  that  he  did  not  intend  to  hit  me  with  the  stone 
but  threw  it  only  to  frighten  me.  I  stated  truthfully 
that  I  did  not  pull  or  destroy  any  shrubbery  and  was 
in  fact  not  near  any  shrubbery  at  all.  Being  a  Jewish 
boy,  however,  my  statement  of  the  affair  was  rejected. 
The  Director  sent  for  the  janitor  and  ordered  him  to 
give  me  the  maximum  punishment — six  blows.  The 
janitor  did  his  duty  so  well  that  my  hands  were  badly 
swollen  for  several  days.  Many  years  afterwards,  on 
one  of  my  European  trips,  I  visited  that  old  school 
building.  It  was  just  as  it  had  been  many  years  before, 
— the  same  room,  the  same  benches,  the  same  teachers 
desk,  but  there  was  a  new  janitor  and  a  new  Director. 
The  old  ones  had  departed  to  that  place  from  whence 
no  janitor  or  Director  has  ever  returned. 

My  father  died  when  I  was  thirteen  years  of  age. 
At  fifteen  I  was  graduated  from  the  "  Unter-Realschule" 
(Lower  High  School).  Immediately  after  the  gradua- 
tion ceremonies  my  mother  called  me  to  her  and  said: 

"It  is  high  time  for  you  to  go  to  America.  I 
have  secured  a  passport  for  you  and  a  steamship 
ticket." 

Her  reason  for  this  was  prompted  by  a  mother  love 
that  went  deeper  than  the  pangs  of  parting,  perhaps 
forever,  from  her  fifteen  year  old  boy,  deeper  than  the 
fears  which  pressed  about  her  heart  when  she  thought 
of  that  immature  boy  going  alone  to  a  strange  land. 
According  to  the  Austrian  law  at  that  time  every  boy 


8  REMINISCENCES 

attaining  the  age  of  eighteen  years  was  subject  to 
military  duty.  If  taken  as  a  soldier,  he  had  to  serve 
seven  years.  When  finally  discharged  from  military 
duty  he  was  almost  too  old  to  begin  any  other  career. 
The  rich  managed  to  have  their  boys  escape  military 
duty  by  bribing  the  military  physician,  who  for  a 
satisfactory  consideration  found  the  boys  "untauglich," 
that  is,  unfit  for  military  duty.  Mother  considered 
bribery  a  sin.  Whether  or  not  she  would  have  com- 
mitted this  sin  I  do  not  know.  Mother  love  is  stronger 
than  law.  Perhaps  it  surpasses  such  a  sin.  In  any 
event  she  did  not  have  the  money;  so  her  boy  had  to 
leave  his  old  home  and  seek  a  new  one  in  America. 

But  the  passport  was  not  to  America.  It  was  to 
Germany — for  a  visit.  Without  it  I  would  not  have 
been  permitted  to  cross  the  border.  If  mother  had 
waited  a  year  or  two  longer  I  would  have  been  so  near 
the  military  age  that  the  Government  would  have 
denied  me  a  passport,  and  even  then,  perhaps,  a  pass- 
port to  America  would  have  been  denied.  And  so  she 
applied  for  a  passport  for  me  to  visit  Germany,  which 
was  granted.  After  entering  Germany  I  did  not  need 
a  passport  to  leave  Germany  for  America. 

The  train  on  which  I  began  my  journey  to  America 
left  Rokycan  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  My 
mother  and  grandmother  escorted  me  to  the  depot, 
and  as  the  train  came  in  sight  each  of  them  gave  me 
her  blessing.  The  last  words  my  mother  said  to  me 
were:  "Be  honest,  my  son.  Do  not  bring  disgrace 
upon  my  head."  As  the  train  pulled  out  I  saw  my 
mother  fall  into  grandmother's  arms.  I  tried  to  get 
off  the  train  but  could  not  do  so  because  the  compart- 
ment I  was  in  was  locked. 


THE  IMMIGRANT  9 

I  sailed  for  America  from  Bremen.  The  ocean  voy- 
age lasted  twenty-one  days  and  was  very  stormy 
throughout  except  for  the  first  day.  Aside  from  the 
almost  continuous  storm  and  the  discomfort,  fear,  and 
seasickness  that  went  with  it,  the  only  incident  that  I 
recall  was  the  taking  on  board  by  our  Captain  of  the 
passengers  and  sailors  from  a  wrecked  sailboat  bound 
for  New  York. 

When  the  steamer  on  which  I  came  to  America 
landed  at  New  York  the  cabin  passengers  of  course 
were  taken  off  first,  while  the  steerage  passengers,  of 
which  I  was  one,  had  to  remain  for  some  time.  While 
we  were  waiting  there  before  landing  a  peddler  came 
alongside  the  steamer  in  a  row-boat  and  offered  to 
sell  us  pies.  The  pie  looked  very  tempting  to  the 
steerage  passengers,  who  during  the  twenty-one  days 
of  voyage  had  been  fed  on  salt  meats,  herring,  and 
potatoes,  with  no  pie  or  other  delicacies  of  any  kind  on 
the  menu.  The  peddler  tied  a  basket  to  the  end  of  a 
rope  and  threw  the  other  end  to  a  passenger.  One 
after  another  we  pulled  the  basket  up,  put  in  the  price 
of  a  pie,  let  the  basket  down  to  the  peddler,  who  would 
take  out  the  money,  put  in  a  pie,  and  the  passenger 
would  pull  it  up.  The  peddler,  who  was  a  German, 
soon  sold  all  his  pies.  I  was  the  proud  possessor  of 
two  ten  dollar  gold  pieces, — my  entire  fortune.  That 
was  more  than  many  of  the  other  steerage  passengers 
possessed.  I  wrapped  up  one  of  the  ten  dollar  gold 
pieces  in  a  paper  and  let  it  down  in  the  basket  to  the 
peddler,  and  received  a  pie  and  the  change.  When  I 
counted  the  change  I  found  $11.80.  I  said  to  the 
peddler, 

"You  gave  me  too  much  money." 


10  REMINISCENCES 

He  replied,  "You  are  in  America  now.  You  may 
keep  the  change." 

I  wondered  at  such  generosity  as  this  and  said  to  a 
fellow  passenger,  "What  a  wonderful  place!  What  a 
blessed  land  America  is!  That  could  happen  no  where 
else  in  the  world." 

After  I  landed  I  soon  learned  that  a  gold  dollar  such 
as  I  gave  the  peddler  was  then  worth  one  dollar  and 
thirty-five  cents  in  paper  money,  which  he  gave  me  in 
change,  and  that  in  the  pie  transaction  I  had  been 
cheated. 

After  landing  my  brother  Marcus  awaited  me  at 
Castle  Garden.  One  of  the  first  persons  I  saw  was  a 
negro,  and  inasmuch  as  I  had  never  seen  one  before  I 
was  very  much  interested  in  this  one,  but  the  interest 
quickly  subsided  when  I  saw  many  more  of  them.  An 
uncle  on  my  mother's  side  and  an  aunt  on  my  father's 
side  resided  in  New  York.  Marcus  took  me  to  them 
to  pay  our  respects,  and  the  next  day  took  me  to 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  where  Marcus  boarded 
with  a  German  family  and  shared  his  bed  with  me. 
Marcus  was  employed  in  a  gold  chain  factory,  where  he 
secured  for  me  an  apprenticeship,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  week  I  received  three  dollars  as  my  wages.  My 
board,  washing  and  lodging,  cost  five  dollars.  Marcus 
paid  the  difference.  After  working  about  four  weeks  I 
asked  Marcus  how  long  I  would  have  to  work  for  three 
dollars  a  week. 

"One  year,"  said  Marcus. 

"And  how  much  will  I  receive  the  following  year?" 
I  asked. 

"Four  dollars  a  week." 

"And  the  next  year?" 


THE  IMMIGRANT  11 

"Five  dollars." 

"And  then  what?" 

"You  will  then  have  served  your  apprenticeship, 
will  be  considered  a  master  workmen,  and  will  receive 
fifteen  dollars  a  week." 

"What  next?" 

"There  will  be  no  next,  unless  you  can  become  a 
foreman,  who  receives  twenty-five  dollars  a  week." 

"  I  will  never  be  a  foreman.     I  quit  now." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"  I  do  not  know,  but  I  do  know  that  I  am  not  going 
to  work  here.   There  is  no  future  for  me  here." 

From  there  I  went  to  New  York  and  called  on  my 
uncle,  the  brother  of  my  mother.  I  received  little  en- 
couragement from  him — on  the  contrary,  he  became 
very  angry.  He  told  me  I  was  no  good,  that  I  should 
have  remained  in  Springfield  and  learned  the  trade, 
that  he  would  not  be  surprised  if  some  day  he  would 
see  me  on  the  gallows. 

I  said,  "You  may  be  right,  but  if  you  should  see 
me  there  I  will  be  the  sheriff." 

The  effect  of  this  last  remark  upon  my  uncle  was 
such  that  I  deemed  it  prudent  to  depart  from  there  as 
quickly  as  I  could.  More  than  fifteen  years  elapsed 
before  we  met  again — this  later  meeting  being  more 
friendly.  The  next  day  after  calling  on  my  uncle  I 
called  on  my  aunt,  who  was  a  sister  of  my  father.  She 
received  me  in  a  very  friendly  manner  and  invited  me 
to  dinner.  She  had  no  children  but  she  did  have  a  pet 
dog.  Her  husband  had  a  large  store  in  the  congested 
district  on  the  East  Side,  in  which  he  operated  sixty  or 
more  Singer  sewing  machines,  making  garments  for  a 
wholesale  dealer.    In  the  rear  of  the  store  was  a  large 


12  REMINISCENCES 

living  room  which  served  as  a  kitchen,  bedroom,  and 
parlor.  My  aunt  asked  me  what  I  was  going  to  do.  I 
replied  that  I  did  not  know,  that  I  was  looking  for  work. 
She  said  that  if  I  were  around  at  meal  times  I  might 
drop  in  and  eat  with  them.  I  thanked  her  and  told 
her  that  what  I  needed  most  was  a  place  to  sleep. 

"  Would  you  permit  me  to  put  your  lounge  in  the 
store  at  night  and  sleep  on  the  lounge  ?" 

"How  can  I?"  she  replied.  " Where  will  my  dog 
sleep?" 

I  did  not  argue  that  question  with  her  further,  but 
left  immediately,  and  many  years  passed  before  I  saw 
her  again.  When  I  did  see  here  again  her  husband  was 
dead.  She  was  in  financial  distress  and  had  applied 
for  acceptance  in  the  Old  People's  Home.  The  Home 
was  willing  to  accept  her  if  she  paid  five  hundred 
dollars.  She  was  without  money  and  I  paid  this  amount 
for  her. 

I  found  a  job  at  last  with  a  German  cigar  manu- 
facturer, who  undertook  to  teach  me  how  to  make 
cigars.  He  gave  me  my  board,  a  bunch  of  straw  to 
sleep  on,  and  six  " smokers"  at  the  end  of  the  week. 
I  was  first  put  to  work  stripping  tobacco.  This  was 
easy  and  I  learned  it  quickly.  I  was  then  shown  how 
to  make  fillers  and  did  fairly  well  at  that.  Then  my 
instructor  put  me  to  wrapping  cigars.  I  tried  my  best 
to  learn  this,  but  was  unable  to  fashion  the  head  of  the 
cigar,  with  the  result  that  I  spoiled  a  good  many 
wrappers,  a  loss  which  my  teacher  could  not  well  afford. 
My  employer's  patience  finally  gave  out.  He  said: 
"Adolf,  I  am  sorry  for  you.  You  haven't  brains  enough 
to  be  a  good  cigar  maker.  Go  and  learn  something 
easy." 


THE  IMMIGRANT  13 

That  ended  my  career  as  a  cigar  maker. 

I  was  then  advised  to  go  peddling  in  some  district 
where  I  would  be  forced  to  learn  to  speak  English.  I 
still  had  one  of  the  two  ten  dollar  gold  pieces  which  I 
brought  from  Europe  and  had  saved  to  this  time. 
I  invested  this  in  Yankee  notions  and  started  on  a 
peddling  tour  in  Connecticut.  I  was  even  a  more 
dismal  failure  as  a  peddler  than  I  was  as  a  cigar  manu- 
facturer, probably  because  it  was  very  distasteful  to 
me  and  my  heart  was  not  in  it.  The  farmers  I  came  in 
contact  with  on  this  trip  were  very  hospitable.  I 
stayed  at  some  of  the  farms  for  days  at  a  time,  helped 
to  do  chores  about  the  place,  played  with  the  boys, 
and  in  that  manner  soon  picked  up  considerable 
English. 

During  this  time  I  was  in  correspondence  with  my 
brother  Marcus.  In  my  letters  I  never  went  into 
details  as  to  what  progress  I  was  making,  but  gave  out 
the  impression  that  I  was  doing  well.  Marcus  was  a 
good  son  and  brother;  I  did  not  want  to  be  a  cause  for 
worry  to  him.  One  day  I  received  an  invitation  to  his 
wedding,  which  took  place  in  New  Haven,  Connecticut. 
The  bride's  brother  was  a  wholesale  dealer  in  wines. 
At  the  wedding  dinner  wine  flowed  quite  freely.  I  was 
then  sixteen  years  of  age.  At  the  wedding  dinner  a 
toast  was  proposed  to  the  bride  and  groom.  Of  course 
everyone  arose  and  drank.  Being  unused  to  wine  I 
took  only  a  sip  of  mine.  A  man  who  sat  next  to  me, 
noting  my  action  and  my  youth  and  seeing  the  possi- 
bility of  what  he  thought  was  a  joke,  said,  "  You  must 
drink  it  all  down.  That  is  the  rule  at  weddings  which 
everybody  follows."  Not  wishing  to  violate  any  rules, 
I  obeyed.  The  next  toast  was  to  the  mother  of  the  bride, 


14  REMINISCENCES 

who  was  present.  Again  the  man  next  to  me  said, 
"Drink  it  down."  Again  I  obeyed.  The  next  toast 
was  to  the  mother  of  the  groom.  I  needed  no  further 
urging  now  and  to  this  toast  I  drank  the  last  drop  in 
the  glass.  After  that  I  did  not  care  whose  health  was 
proposed  or  how  many  were  thus  honored — I  drank 
fully  each  time.  I  felt  fine.  The  wedding  took  place 
in  January.  When  the  dinner  was  over  everyone  left 
for  home.  When  I  reached  the  street  I  thought  I  saw 
the  houses  careen  from  side  to  side,  and  then  I  fell  upon 
the  sidewalk.  One  of  the  brothers  of  the  bride  picked 
me  up — as  I  afterwards  learned — put  me  in  a  carriage, 
took  me  to  my  room,  and  put  me  to  bed.  I  was  very 
sick  afterwards.  That  was  the  first  and  last  time  in 
my  life  that  I  was  drunk.  For  me  that  first  experience 
acted  as  a  toxin  against  drunkenness,  and  from  that  night 
on  to  my  present  accumulation  of  years  I  have  never 
been  able  to  drink  more  than  one  or  two  glasses  of  wine 
upon  any  occasion. 

Marcus  took  his  young  wife  to  Springfield,  Massa- 
chusetts. I  remained  in  New  Haven,  where  I  secured 
a  job  in  a  paper  box  factory  at  a  straight  salary  of 
five  dollars  a  week  for  ten  hours  work  per  day,  and 
about  two  dollars  a  week  for  overtime.  In  the  follow- 
ing fall  the  factory  was  closed  by  the  sheriff,  and  I  was 
again  out  of  work.  I  was  unable  to  find  other  employ- 
ment and  my  savings  soon  vanished.  I  told  the  land- 
lady of  the  German  boarding  house  where  I  lived  that 
I  had  to  leave  as  I  had  no  money  left  and  no  work. 
She  generously  asked  me  to  stay  all  winter,  saying  that 
I  would  surely  have  a  job  by  spring  and  could  then  pay 
my  indebtedness  to  her.  I  thanked  her  but  told  her  I 
could  not  accept  her  offer  as  it  would  take  me  a  year 


THE  IMMIGRANT  15 

to  pay  the  debt.  I  made  a  small  bundle  of  what  cloth- 
ing I  had  left,  put  the  bundle  on  my  back  and  left  New 
Haven  on  foot,  seeking  work  in  some  nearby  town.  I 
started  in  the  direction  of  West  Haven ;  about  half  way 
between  New  Haven  and  West  Haven  was  a  country 
store.  It  was  a  bitter  cold  day.  I  was  hungry,  and  all 
the  money  I  had  left  was  two  pennies.  I  went  into  the 
store  to  see  what  I  could  buy  for  this  money.  I  saw 
large,  beautiful  apples  there  and  asked  the  grocer  how 
much  he  wanted  for  an  apple. 

"Two  cents,"  said  the  grocer. 

"That  is  all  the  money  I  have.  Could  you  not  sell 
me  one  of  the  smaller  ones  for  one  cent?" 

The  grocer  looked  at  me  and  said,  "You  can  have 
two  apples  for  a  cent." 

Since  that  time  I  have  eaten  a  good  many  apples, 
but  I  have  never  since  eaten  an  apple  that  tasted  so 
good  as  those  two  which  the  grocer  gave  me  on  that 
occasion.  After  eating  the  apples,  and  with  the  re- 
maining penny  in  my  pocket,  I  started  on  my  journey, 
without  the  slightest  idea  as  to  where  I  was  going  or 
what  might  happen  to  me.  As  I  walked  along  the 
road  a  gentleman  came  along  in  a  sleigh.  As  we  met 
he  stopped  and  asked  if  he  could  give  me  a  lift.  I 
accepted  the  invitation  and  when  he  asked  me  where 
I  was  going  I  told  him  I  did  not  know,  that  I  was 
looking  for  work.  He  asked  me  if  I  could  clean  horses 
and  I  told  him  I  could  learn.  "I  will  try  you,"  he 
said,  and  that  evening  I  took  my  first  lesson  on  the 
care  of  horses. 

A  few  days  after  this  Christmas  Eve  was  celebrated. 
I  was  invited  by  my  employer  to  go  with  the  family  to 
church.    The  church  was  crowded  with  people,  and  up 


16  REMINISCENCES 

near  the  pulpit  was  a  tremendous  Christmas  tree, 
loaded  with  presents.  When  the  religious  services  were 
over  the  minister  called  off  the  names  of  those  for  whom 
presents  had  been  placed  upon  the  tree.  One  after 
another  those  whose  names  were  called  stepped  for- 
ward and  received  a  Christmas  gift.  There  must  have 
been  at  least  five  hundred  people  there.  I  was  the  only 
one  in  that  crowd  who  received  nothing.  I  did  not 
expect  to  receive  a  gift  and  the  fact  that  I  did  not  re- 
ceive one  had  no  influence  upon  my  feelings,  but  for 
some  reason  that  occasion  brought  home  to  my  mind 
how  alone  I  was,  a  stranger  among  strangers,  how  far, 
far  away  were  all  those  who  were  near  and  dear  to  me, 
and  the  tears  which  I  could  not  restrain  came  to  my 
eyes.  A  few  days  afterwards  my  employer  asked  me 
where  I  was  born,  what  education  I  had,  and  whether 
I  understood  German  grammar,  etc.  I  answered  his 
questions  and  thereupon  my  employer,  who  was  the 
owner  of  a  large  manufacturing  establishment,  said, 
"  Although  you  are  willing  to  learn,  I  have  no  time  to 
train  you  how  to  take  care  of  horses.  I  will  hire  a  boy 
for  that  who  has  had  some  experience.  If  you  wish, 
however,  you  can  stay  here  over  the  winter  and  in- 
struct my  children  in  German."  So  for  the  winter 
the  stable  boy  was  converted  into  an  instructor  in 
German. 

When  the  winter  was  over  my  employer  told  me 
that  he  would  give  me  a  job  in  his  factory  but  that 
only  native  born  were  employed  there.  He  asked  me  if 
I  had  any  plans  for  the  future  and  I  answered  that  I 
would  like  to  go  west.  He  gave  me  fifty  dollars.  I 
thanked  him  as  best  I  could  and  left  for  Painesville, 
Ohio,  where  I  had  a  relative  living  who  was  the  owner 


THE  IMMIGRANT  17 

of  a  dry  goods  store.  This  relative  received  me  kindly 
and  gave  me  a  position  as  clerk  in  his  store.  By  that 
time  I  had  mastered  the  English  language  sufficiently 
to  act  as  a  salesman.  My  relative  gave  me  board  and 
room  at  his  home  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  month  he 
handed  me  five  dollars  as  my  salary,  and  the  next 
month  the  same.  At  this  I  said  to  him,  "  I  cannot  work 
for  five  dollars  a  month.  I  have  to  buy  clothes.  I  must 
earn  more  money  than  that."  His  answer  was,  "Very 
well.   Try  it  somewhere  else.   You  are  discharged." 

In  less  than  one  hour  I  stood  behind  the  counter  in 
another  store  with  a  salary  of  ten  dollars  a  week,  out 
of  which  I  paid  for  board  and  lodging.  When  I  went 
back  in  the  evening  of  that  day  to  my  relative's  house, 
to  pack  up  my  belongings,  he  told  me  that  I  could  come 
to  work  the  next  day  and  that  I  would  be  paid  ten 
dollars  a  month.  I  thanked  him,  but  told  him  that  I 
had  a  better  job. 

In  the  spring  of  1868,  in  the  hope  of  bettering  my 
condition,  I  left  Painesville  and  went  to  Cleveland. 
For  several  days  I  walked  from  store  to  store  seeking 
unsuccessfully  a  position  as  salesman.  Finally  I  applied 

to  a  Mr. for  a  position  as  salesman  in  his  shoe 

store  on  Ontario  Street.   Mr. told  me  he  already 

had  more  clerks  than  customers.  I  replied  that  there 
was  a  very  large  Bohemian  population  in  Cleveland, 
that  I  spoke  Bohemian  and  thought  I  could  secure  a 
large  share  of  that  trade.  That  interested  him  at  once, 
and  he  told  me  that  I  might  begin  work  the  following 
morning.  I  knew  nothing  about  the  shoe  business, 
however,  and  desiring  to  make  some  preparation  for 
the  work,  I  asked  him  to  let  me  come  in  one  week, 
to  which  he   consented.     I    then   went   to   what   was 


18  REMINISCENCES 

known  as  the  west  side,  found  a  shoe  store  which  was 
owned  by  a  co-religionist,  explained  the  situation  to 
him  and  asked  permission  to  work  in  his  store  a  few 
days  without  compensation,  in  order  to  learn  something 
about  the  business  before  starting  on  my  new  job.  To 
this  he  readily  assented,  and  in  the  following  days  very 
kindly  did  everything  he  could  to  assist  me.  I  then 
went  to  see  the  editor  of  a  Bohemian  paper  who  pub- 
lished in  his  paper  the  following:  "Our  countryman, 
Mr.  Adolf  Kraus,  has  accepted  a  position  as  salesman 

in  the  boot  and  shoe  store  of  Mr.  on  Ontario 

Street." 

The    next    morning    following    this    publication,    a 
number  of   Bohemian  women   came  to   the  store  on 

Ontario  Street  to  buy.    Mr.  at  once  assigned 

one  of  the  other  clerks  to  assist  me  and  at  the  end  of 
the  week  I  was  paid  twenty  dollars,  being  more  than 
any  other  clerk  in  that  store  received.  After  I  was 
there  about  four  months,  one  evening  Mr.  in- 
vited  me  to  his  home  to  dinner.    After  dinner,   and 

when  we  were  alone  together,  Mr.  said  to  me: 

11  I  have  a  proposition  to  make  to  you,  which  you  must 
forget  that  I  made  if  you  fail  to  accept  it.  There 
is  a  vacant  store  in  the  hotel  building  (naming  the 
hotel).  Rent  it  in  your  own  name  for  a  year,  order 
shelving  put  in,  and  I  will  furnish  you  with  a  stock  of 
boots  and  shoes.  You  manage  the  store  as  owner. 
Do  not  come  near  me.  If  the  commercial  agency 
should  ask  you  for  a  statement,  make  none,  saying 
simply  that  you  buy  for  cash.  As  you  sell  and  you  find 
that  you  need  a  new  supply,  buy  it  and  pay  for  it. 
Open  an  account  in  the  bank  in  your  own  name.  Do 
a  strictly  cash  business.   No  one  is  to  know  that  I  have 


THE  IMMIGRANT  19 

an  interest  in  the  business.  You  can  live  in  the  hotel 
at  my  expense  and  I  will  give  you  twenty-five  dollars 
a  week  salary,  or,  if  you  prefer,  you  can,  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  take  all  the  net  profit  in  lieu  of  the  salary." 
I   had  not  had  sufficient  experience  at  that  time  to 

suspect  the  motive  which   prompted   Mr.   ■  to 

make  the  offer,  and  accepted  the  proposition.  I  con- 
ducted the  business  at  that  place  for  about  ten  months. 

One  day  Mr.  came  to  the  store.    He  looked 

around  the  store  and  after  investigating  the  books 
which  were  kept  presented  a  bill  of  sale  of  the  store  and 
asked  me  to  sign  it,  saying  he  was  taking  over  the  store 
himself.  He  offered  to  pay  me  whatever  profits  were 
shown  after  taking  inventory,  or  a  thousand  dollars  in 
cash  without  inventory.  I  told  him  that  whatever 
profits  were  made  belonged  to  him  and  that  I  would 
take  the  thousand  dollars.    Afterwards,  I  learned  that 

before  taking  over  the  store  Mr.  had  made  a 

settlement  with  his  creditors. 

I  was  then  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  but  appeared 
much  older.  I  had  the  " wanderlust"  which  goes  with 
that  age,  and  wanted  to  see  the  country.  From  Cleve- 
land I  went  to  Louisville,  remained  there  a  few  days, 
bought  a  horse  and  started  on  a  tour  of  the  southern 
states.  The  people  in  the  South  had  not  yet  recovered 
from  the  ravages  of  the  Civil  War.  The  planters  were 
land  rich  but  money  poor.  They  were,  however,  very 
hospitable. 

I  had  learned  a  few  sleight  of  hand  tricks  which  I 
performed  reasonably  well.  As  a  rule  I  stopped  over 
night  at  some  plantation.  When  I  offered  to  pay  for 
any  accommodations  fully  nine  out  of  ten  refused  to 
accept  any  compensation.    I  generally  entertained  the 


20  REMINISCENCES 

host  and  family  after  supper  by  performing  sleight  of 
hand  tricks.  These  amused  the  host  and  family  and 
gave  me  some  humorous  experiences. 

Near  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  I  stopped  at  a 
planter's  home  over  Sunday.  Saturday  evening,  while 
exhibiting  my  skill,  my  host  asked  me  where  I  was 
born.  I  answered,  "Bohemia."  Sunday  morning,  after 
breakfast,  the  planter  left  home  on  horseback  and 
returned  in  about  an  hour  with  his  brother-in-law,  also 
a  planter,  to  whom  he  introduced  me.  Shortly  after- 
wards I  overheard  a  conversation  in  an  adjoining  room 
between  the  two  brothers-in-law,  which  ran  as  follows: 

The  host — "Did  you  take  a  good  look  at  that  man?" 

The  brother-in-law — "Yes." 

The  host — "He  told  me  he  is  a  Bohemian.  Do  you  think  he 
told  the  truth?" 

The  brother-in-law — "  I  cannot  say,  but  I  do  not  think  he  looks 
like  one." 

The  host — "John,  where  is  Bohemia?" 

John—"I'\\  be  damned  if  I  know." 

In  the  evening  the  host  said,  "My  brother-in-law  and  I  are 
two  of  the  three  school  trustees  of  this  district.  The  school 
teacher  has  resigned.  We  are  looking  for  someone  to  fill  his 
place.  Will  you  take  the  job?"  I  told  him  I  was  not  competent 
to  teach  school.  He  said,  "We  think  you  know  enough  to  teach 
school  in  this  district;  that  is  sufficient."     The  offer  was  declined. 

Near  Eufaula,  Alabama,  the  planter  at  whose  home 
I  stopped  one  night  had  two  daughters,  one  about 
sixteen  and  the  other  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  and 
a  boy  about  twelve  years  old.  I  performed  to  the  best 
of  my  ability  the  customary  sleight  of  hand  tricks.  In 
the  morning  after  breakfast,  and  after  I  bade  the  family 
good-bye,  I  went  to  the  barn  to  get  my  horse.  The  boy 
who  had  followed  me  asked  me  if  I  could  crawl  through 
a  key-hole.  I  told  him  that  no  one  could  do  that. 
The  boy  replied,   "Well,   my  sisters  think  you  can. 


THE  IMMIGRANT  21 

Last  night  they  stuffed  up  the  key-hole  in  their  door 
with  cotton  so  that  you  could  not  get  in." 

The  feeling  in  the  South  at  that  time  was  very 
bitter  against  any  one  from  the  North.  I  soon  ex- 
perienced this.  One  evening  in  a  small  town,  at  a 
tavern  where  I  stopped,  a  half  dozen  men  were  sitting 
around  the  fireplace  talking  and  chewing  tobacco. 
Noticing  me  a  stranger  among  them,  one  of  them 
turned  to  me  and  asked  where  I  came  from.  "  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,"  I  answered.  The  man  jumped  up,  drew 
a  bowie  knife  and  said,  "You  damn  Yankee — ."  The 
tavern  keeper  rushed  between  us,  shoved  me  out  of 
the  room  and  said,  "Take  your  horse  quick,  and  get 
out  of  this  town.  You  are  not  safe  here."  Anyone 
from  north  of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line  was  con- 
sidered a  Yankee.  The  next  time  I  was  asked  where  I 
came  from  I  answered,  "Louisville,  Kentucky."  And 
when  asked  which  side  I  was  on  during  the  war,  I 
answered  that  I  was  in  Europe  during  the  war,  that  I 
was  only  thirteen  years  old  when  the  war  closed. 
After  I  had  been  in  Atlanta  a  few  days,  whenever  I 
was  asked  where  I  came  from  I  answered,  "Atlanta." 
That  proved  to  be  a  satisfactory  answer.  To  the  oft 
repeated  question  while  in  the  South  as  to  which  in 
my  opinion  was  the  best  general  in  the  two  armies  I 
to  be  on  the  safe  side  invariably  answered,  "General 
Lee." 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  I  returned  to  Ohio,  visiting 
an  uncle  who  was  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  business  in 
Norwalk,  Ohio.  The  uncle  appeared  pleased  at  my 
visit,  saying  I  was  just  the  boy  he  wanted  to  see,  that 
he  intended  to  open  a  branch  store  somewhere  and 
wanted  me  to  run  it  for  him.    We  soon  agreed  upon 


22  REMINISCENCES 

terms.  He  rented  a  store  in  Hudson,  Michigan,  and  I 
managed  it  until  October,  1871,  doing  a  good  business. 
It  was  in  this  town  of  Hudson,  Michigan,  that  I  joined 
the  Masonic  and  Oddfellow  lodges.  I  became  ac- 
quainted with  nearly  every  one  in  town  and  with  most 
of  the  farmers  in  the  county.  There  I  had  my  first 
experience  in  politics.  A  young  lawyer  with  whom  I 
played  checkers  every  evening,  which  by  the  way  was 
about  the  only  amusement  I  indulged  in  in  those  days, 
had  an  ambition  to  become  State's  Attorney  for  that 
county.  Nomination  was  equivalent  to  an  election. 
I  became  his  campaign  manager  and  organized  a 
young  men's  political  club.  The  young  lawyer  was 
nominated  and  elected.  After  the  election  he  said  to 
me  that  there  was  no  future  in  the  dry  goods  business 
and  urged  me  to  study  law,  that  by  the  time  his  term 
of  office  expired  I  could  be  admitted  to  the  bar  and  that 
then  he  and  I  could  go  into  partnership;  that  in  order 
to  make  a  good  start  we  should  give  up  playing  check- 
ers ;  I  should  study  law  and  he  would  be  my  instructor. 
Hardly  had  this  plan  been  adopted  when,  during  the 
first  week  in  October,  1871,  my  uncle  informed  me  that 
he  had  decided  to  retire  from  business  and  return  with 
his  family  to  Europe,  and  offered  to  sell  me  the  Hudson 
store  on  credit.  I  felt  that  I  could  not  accept  this 
offer.  The  Hudson  store  was  then  sold  and  I  was  again 
without  occupation. 

A  few  days  after  this  I  read  in  the  Chicago  Times  of 
the  big  fire  in  Chicago.  For  several  days  the  news- 
papers reported  that  Chicago  was  still  burning  and, 
finally,  that  the  fire  was  under  control.  A  great  city 
in  ashes!  Factories,  stores,  public  buildings,  homes, 
fortunes,    the    monuments    of   a   growing   city's    half 


THE  IMMIGRANT  23 

century  of  toil — all  destroyed!  But  not  hope.  The 
city  would  be  rebuilt.  And  there  in  that  city  I  decided 
that  I,  too,  would  build  my  home. 

Upon  my  arrival  there  the  fire  engines  were  still 
throwing  water  upon  the  ruins.  A  gentleman  to  whom 
I  had  a  letter  of  introduction  recommended  me  to  a 
boarding  house  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Washington 
Boulevard  and  Green  Street,  a  locality  which  had  not 
been  reached  by  the  fire.  To  this  place  I  went.  The 
corner  was  improved  with  what  was  then  a  nice, 
modern  frame  double  residence  building.  The  owner 
lived  on  the  corner  and  rented  the  west  part  of  the 
building  to  a  lady  who  kept  a  boarding  house.  I  en- 
gaged a  room  there  and  lived  there  for  several  weeks. 
About  four  years  afterwards  I  learned  that  this  double 
building  which  was  covered  by  one  roof  was  owned  by 
a  Mr.  S.  Stein,  who  lived  there  with  his  wife  and  his 
wife's  youngest  sister  who  lived  with  them.  This  fact, 
trivial  and  accidental  to  others,  of  course,  has  always 
been  of  wonderful  significance  to  me — for  that  same 
roof  which  covered  me  the  first  night  I  slept  in  Chicago 
covered  also  that  " youngest  sister,"  the  young  lady 
who  afterwards  became  my  wife. 


Kraus  at  the  Age  of  Twenty-one 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  CITIZEN 


II 

THE  CITIZEN 

After  living  in  Chicago  for  about  a  year  I  went  to 
Europe  to  visit  my  mother.  I  remained  there  longer 
than  I  intended,  with  the  result  that  when  I  returned 
to  Chicago  my  savings  were  gone.  I  arrived  at  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  before  twelve  o'clock  had 
a  job  as  a  clerk  in  John  York's  dry  goods  store  on 
Halsted  Street,  at  a  salary  of  fifteen  dollars  a  week. 
I  concluded  not  to  waste  any  money  but  to  save  all  I 
could,  so  as  to  be  able  to  study  law.  After  I  worked 
at  York's  for  about  three  months,  Wolf  Brothers,  who 
owned  a  dry  goods  store  near  York's,  offered  me  twenty 
five  dollars  a  week  and  board,  which  I  accepted. 
When  I  had  three  hundred  dollars  saved  I  gave 
up  clerking  and  entered  a  lawyer's  office  to  study 
law.  The  three  hundred  dollars  lasted  me  a  year. 
After  that  I  attended  to  collections  and  small  cases 
before  Justices  of  the  Peace,  and  was  thus  enabled 
to  live. 

In  1876,  my  good  friend  William  Taussig,  married, 
and  I  was  his  best  man  at  the  wedding.  I  prepared  for 
and  delivered  on  this  occasion  an  after-dinner  speech, 
which  was  well  received.  Lawyer  Philip  Stein,  who 
was  one  of  the  guests  at  the  wedding  and  who  years 
afterwards  became  one  of  my  law  partners,  compli- 
mented me  on  the  speech  and  introduced  me  to  Mrs.  S. 
Stein  and  to  Miss  Mathilde  Hirsh,  who  was  that 
"youngest  sister"  of  Mrs.  Stein.  The  impression 
Miss  Hirsh  made  upon  me  is  sufficiently  attested    by 

27 


28  REMINISCENCES 

the  fact  that  within  a  few  months  afterwards,  in  the 
winter  of  1876,  I  proposed  to  her.  What  did  I  say  to 
her  in  this  proposal?  Well,  what  could  I  say?  Besides, 
what  is  said  in  proposals  which  are  accepted  is  locked 
away  in  the  hearts  of  the  two  who  are  thus  united, 
where  none  other  may  see.  But  in  connection  with 
that  proposal  it  was  made  clear  that  I  was  very  poor; 
that  I  was  not  yet  admitted  to  the  bar  but  expected 
to  be  in  a  few  months ;  that  only  the  cheapest  and  most 
necessary  furniture  could  be  had  for  whatever  home 
we  might  establish;  that  hope  was  strong  in  me  that 
success  and  prosperity  would  come  to  us.  All  this  she 
understood,  and  notwithstanding  accepted  me  although 
she  then  had  two  other  admirers,  each  of  whom  was  a 
prosperous  merchant.  My  chief  object  in  life  has 
been  to  justify  the  confidence  she  then  reposed  in 
me  and  I  am  happiest  when  I  think,  as  I  some- 
times permit  myself  to  do,  that  she  has  never  regretted 
her  choice. 

The  wedding  day  was  set  for  the  seventh  day  of 
January,  1877.  We  went  out  to  look  for  a  flat  at  a 
rental  which  would  be  within  our  means.  We  found 
two  rooms  in  the  Bohemian  settlement  at  a  rental  of 
eight  dollars  a  month,  which  we  thought  might  do. 
In  speaking  of  this  selection  to  Miss  Hirsh's  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  Simon  Stein,  he  said  that  would  never  do, 
that  we  should  not  go  to  such  a  poor  section  of  the 
city.  I  replied  that  I  could  not  afford  any  better  for 
the  present.  Stein  then  said  if  we  would  select  a  nice 
flat  in  a  good  neighborhood  he  would  furnish  it  com- 
pletely as  a  wedding  present.  That  was  a  very  tempt- 
ing offer,  but  I  felt  that  I  must  not  undertake  to  pay 
rent  beyond  my  means.     Finally  a  flat  at  a  monthly 


THE  CITIZEN  29 

rental  of  fifteen  dollars  was  selected  under  a  lease  to 
May  1st,  with  the  privilege  of  extending  it  for  a  year. 
Stein  furnished  the  flat  at  an  expense  of  over  fifteen 
hundred  dollars,  which,  considering  the  times,  was  a 
princely  gift.  The  marriage  took  place  at  Stein's  home 
on  the  evening  of  the  seventh  of  January.  The  wed- 
ding trip  consisted  of  a  carriage  ride  from  Stein's  home 
to  the  flat.  At  eight  o'clcok  the  next  morning  I  was  in 
my  office  ready  for  work. 

Although  I  had  not  yet  passed  my  examination  for 
the  bar,  it  may  be  said  that  my  career  as  a  lawyer 
started  on  the  day  after  our  wedding.  A  client  called 
at  my  office  about  eight-thirty  that  morning  with  a 
claim  for  damages.  I  secured  a  very  satisfactory 
settlement  of  the  claim  the  same  day,  for  which  I  re- 
ceived a  fee  of  one  hundred  dollars.  That  was  the 
largest  fee  I  had  earned  up  to  that  time.  I  brought 
the  money  home  and  gave  it  to  my  wife  for  safe- 
keeping, as  I  likewise  did  with  every  cent  I  earned 
that  year,  keeping  only  ten  cents  a  day  for  car  fare  in 
going  home  to  lunch  on  the  street  car.  In  going  to 
my  office  in  the  morning  and  in  coming  home  in  the 
evening  I  walked.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  all 
expenses  were  paid  and  over  one  thousand  dollars 
saved  up.  Mrs.  Kraus  did  all  the  housework.  Her 
brother,  M.  M.  Hirsh,  made  her  a  wedding  present  of 
a  frame  building  at  15  South  Green  Street,  which  some 
years  afterwards  she  sold  for  a  thousand  dollars.  The 
building  was  on  a  leased  lot  and  on  May  1st,  1877,  we 
moved  into  this  building  and  lived  there  for  about 
three  years. 

In  June,  1877,  I  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  At  the 
time  I  was  admitted,  Chicago  had  a  Bohemian  popu- 


30  REMINISCENCES 

lation  of  not  less  than  30,000,  and  I  was  then  the  only 
lawyer  in  the  city  who  could  speak  the  Bohemian 
language. 

In  July,  1877,  a  Bohemian  whom  I  shall  call  Defend- 
ant, and  who  lived  in  a  frame  house  on  Sixteenth  Street 
near  Halsted  Street,  shot  and  killed  an  Irishman  who 
lived  in  the  same  house.  Defendant's  mother  retained 
me  to  defend  him.  The  Irishman  was  a  stevedore. 
Defendant  claimed  that  the  stevedore  attacked  him 
with  a  stevedore  hook,  and  that  he  shot  him  in  self- 
defense.  Two  policemen  happened  to  be  close  by  when 
the  shot  was  fired.  They  rushed  up  to  the  place  and 
found  Defendant  with  a  revolver  in  his  hand,  the 
stevedore  dead.  On  investigation  I  could  find  no  one 
who  admitted  having  seen  the  stevedore  hook,  or  who 
had  witnessed  the  shooting.  I  believed  Defendant's 
story  but  feared  that  the  jury  would  not  believe  it. 
I  did  not  want  to  take  the  responsibility  so  shortly 
after  being  admitted  to  the  bar  of  defending  a  man  on 
trial  for  his  life,  so  I  asked  Mr.  A.  S.  Trude,  then  one 
of  the  leading,  if  not  the  leading  criminal  lawyer  in  the 
city,  to  aid  me  in  the  trial  of  the  case.  Trude  con- 
sented. I  turned  over  to  him  the  entire  fee  I  had 
received.  It  was  agreed  that  at  the  trial  Trude  should 
make  the  opening  statement  for  the  defense  and  cross- 
examine  the  State's  witnesses.  I  was  to  question  the 
defendant's  witnesses  and  make  the  opening  argument 
for  the  defense;  Trude  was  to  close.  Mr.  Trude  in  his 
opening  statement  to  the  jury  said  that  the  deceased 
and  the  defendant  lived  in  the  same  house  and  were 
deadly  enemies;  that  this  enmity  arose  because  of  the 
perpetration  by  the  deceased  of  what  was  coarsely  in- 
tended   to   be   a  joke   upon   defendant's   wife,   which 


THE  CITIZEN  31 

resulted  in  her  injury.  Mr.  Trude  explained  the 
nature  of  the  supposed  joke  and  the  resulting  injury  in 
great  detail,  leaving  not  nearly  so  much  to  the  imagina- 
tion as  I  am  obliged  to  do  here ;  that  from  that  time  on 
there  was  bad  blood  between  the  defendant  and  the 
deceased;  that  on  the  evening  of  the  killing  the  de- 
ceased saw  defendant  first,  started  to  attack  him  with 
a  stevedore  hook,  and  that  the  defendant  shot  in  self- 
defense. 

When  we  went  to  lunch  during  the  noon  recess  I  said 
to  Mr. Trude,  "You  shocked  me  when  you  made  the  state- 
ment as  to  what  happened  to  Mrs. .  How  can  you 

prove  it?"  He  replied,  "You  will  see."  The  case  was 
tried  and  on  cross-examination  of  one  of  the  policemen 
Mr.  Trude  made  him  admit  that  he  picked  up  the  steve- 
dore hook  near  the  body  of  the  deceased  and  handed  it 
to  the  State's  Attorney.  Mr.  Trude  then  demanded  of 
the  State's  Attorney  that  he  produce  the  hook,  which  the 
State's  Attorney  did.  I  called  and  examined  all  the 
witnesses  for  the  defendant.  When  I  had  finished  Mr. 
Trude  called  the  defendant's  wife  to  the  stand  and  the 
following  took  place: 

Mr.  Trude — "Give  your  name  in  full." 

Answer — "Mary ." 

Mr.  Trude — "You  are  the  wife  of  the  defendant?" 

Answer — "Yes." 

Mr.  Trude — "Tell  the  court  and  jury  what  the  deceased  did 
to  you  when  you  went  to  the  rear  of  the  house  about  four  weeks 
before  your  husband  shot  him." 

Mr.  Mills—  (State's  Attorney)  "I  object." 

Mr.  Trude — "Why  do  you  object?" 

Mr.  Mills — "She  is  the  wife  of  the  defendant  and  cannot 
testify." 

Mr.  Trude — "Yes  she  can,  if  you  do  not  object." 

Mr.  Mills— li  I  object." 

Mr.  Trude — "Madam,  step  aside." 


32  REMINISCENCES 

Mr.  Trude  in  his  closing  argument  said: 

"Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  I  made  a  certain  statement  to  you 
before  the  witnesses  were  heard.  You  must  disregard  that 
statement  because  I  failed  to  prove  it.  The  reason  for  my 
failure  is  that  only  two  persons  knew  of  it,  the  deceased,  who 
cannot  testify,  and  the  wife  of  the  defendant,  whom  the  law 
does  not  allow  to  testify." 

The  jury  retired  and  were  out  a  long  time.  On  the 
first  ballot  eleven  voted  "Not  guilty,"  one  voted 
"Guilty"  and  stood  so  up  to  the  last  ballot.  Then  the 
juror  who  was  for  hanging  made  a  proposition  that  if 
they  would  all  agree  to  five  years  on  the  next  ballot 
he  would  vote  with  them.  If  they  did  not  so  agree  he 
would  hold  out  for  hanging.  The  other  eleven,  after 
consultation,  agreed  to  vote  for  five  years,  and  a  ver- 
dict was  brought  in  accordingly.  A  week  before  this 
case  was  tried  a  man  who  had  been  indicted  for  murder 
pleaded  guilty  and  received  a  sentence  of  fifteen  years. 
When  the  defendant  heard  of  it  he  sent  for  the  State's 
Attorney  and  told  him  that  he  would  plead  guilty  if 
the  State  would  agree  to  fifteen  years.  The  State's 
Attorney  refused  and  said,  "I  have  the  gallows  ready 
for  you." 

The  case  was  tried  before  Judge  Rogers.  I  asked 
one  of  the  jurors  how  the  jury  came  to  reach  such  a 
verdict.  He  told  me  what  had  happened  in  the  jury 
room  and  added,  "If  any  man  would  do  to  my  wife 
what  that  fellow  did  to  the  defendant's  wife,  I  would 
kill  him  if  I  knew  I  would  hang  for  it.  In  fact  all  of  us 
jurors,  except  one,  felt  the  same  way,  but  we  agreed 
to  five  years  because  we  were  afraid  that  the  next  jury 
would  not  know  what  had  happened  and  might  hang 
him."  When  the  motion  for  a  new  trial  was  reached 
we  withdrew  the  motion,  whereupon  the  judge  said, 


THE  CITIZEN  33 

"I  am  glad  you  withdrew  the  motion,  because  if  you 
had  not  withdrawn  it  I  would  have  granted  it.  If  the 
defendant  had  shot  the  deceased  as  soon  as  he  heard 
what  happened  to  his  wife,  no  jury  would  have  found 
him  guilty,  but  he  waited  four  weeks,  he  had  time  to 
cool  off,  so  he  deserves  some  punishment.  I  will  sent- 
ence him.  I  believe,  however,  that  five  years  is  too 
much  and  if  he  behaves  while  in  prison  I  will  ask  the 
Governor  to  pardon  him  after  he  has  served  one  year. 
The  judge  did  so  request  after  one  year  and  the  de- 
fendant was  pardoned.  Defendant  returned  to  his 
family,  worked  hard,  behaved  well,  and  never  again 
got  into  trouble.  He  lived  happily  with  his  family 
and  made  himself  useful  in  the  community. 

Soon  after  this  trial  another  Bohemian  was  indicted 
for  murdering  his  wife  and  I  was  asked  to  defend  him. 
In  this  case  the  defendant  and  his  wife  kept  a  saloon 
in  the  rear  of  which  they  lived.  One  Sunday  afternoon 
they  went  to  a  picnic,  coming  home  about  ten  o'clock 
P.  M.  The  defendant  went  into  the  saloon  for  a 
drink,  his  wife  following  him  and  urging  him  to  go  to 
bed.  He  held  a  revolver  in  his  hand — a  shot  was 
fired,  and  the  wife  dropped  dead.  The  police,  hearing 
the  shot,  rushed  in  and  found  the  defendant  beside  the 
body  of  his  wife,  embracing  and  kissing  her  and  shout- 
ing at  the  top  of  his  voice.  There  was  no  one  present 
at  the  shooting.  The  defendant's  children,  who  were 
grown,  said  that  their  parents  had  always  lived  peace- 
ably together.  They  retained  me  to  defend  him.  I 
hesitated  whether  to  defend  on  the  ground  that  the 
shot  was  accidental  or  that  the  defendant  was  insane. 

I  employed  two  of  the  leading  insanity  specialists  of 
Chicago.    They  stripped  the  defendant,  put  him  in  a 


34  REMINISCENCES 

dark  cell  for  examination  and,  after  what  appeared  to 
be  a  thorough  examination,  declared  him  incurably 
insane.  The  State's  Attorney,  owing  to  the  defendant's 
queer  actions  (he  spoke  to  no  one,  slept  very  little,  and 
day  and  night  counted  the  beads  of  his  rosary),  had 
the  County  physician  examine  him,  who  also  declared 
him  insane.  The  case  was  defended  on  the  plea  of  in- 
sanity. The  defendant  was  found  insane  and  sent  to 
the  State  asylum  in  Elgin.  In  the  asylum  the  defendant 
stopped  counting  his  beads  and  threw  the  rosary  away. 
After  he  was  there  about  a  year  the  asylum  doctor 
sent  word  to  his  son-in-law  to  come  and  take  him  home, 
that  he  was  not  insane  but  had  a  cancer  in  his  throat. 
The  son-in-law  took  him  home.  About  a  week  after- 
wards the  defendant  went  out  for  a  walk.  He  never 
came  back  and  was  never  again  heard  from.  That 
case  furnished  material  for  a  lengthy  controversy 
between  the  asylum  doctor  and  the  Chicago  doctors 
who  declared  him  insane.  Each  side  wrote  many 
pamphlets  on  the  subject  and  had  them  published. 

During  the  first  year  after  I  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  I  defended  two  other  murder  cases  and  in  each  of 
them  was  fortunate  in  having  my  client  found  not 
guilty. 

About  two  months  after  I  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
a  picnic  was  arranged  for  Bohemian  school  children 
in  Chicago  in  what  was  then  known  as  Silver  Leaf 
Grove,  on  Ogden  Avenue.  There  was  in  the  city  at 
that  time  a  Bohemian  company  of  state  militia,  of 
which  Prokop  Hudek  was  captain.  A  lieutenant  with 
twenty  men  of  that  company  marched  in  full  uniform 
with  the  children  to  the  picnic  grounds.  The  lieuten- 
ant sent  ten  of  the  men  inside  of  the  grove  and  he  and 


THE  CITIZEN  35 

the  other  ten  remained  on  guard  on  the  outside,  not 
because  trouble  was  expected,  but  to  attract  attention. 
Instead  of  drawing  visitors  to  the  grounds  the  soldiers 
drew  a  crowd  of  hoodlums,  who  jeered  and  threw  stones 
at  the  soldiers.  The  lieutenant  called  to  the  crowd  to 
disperse  and  threatened  that  if  they  failed  to  do  so  he 
would  order  his  men  to  fire.  The  crowd  considered 
this  a  great  joke  and  redoubled  their  jeering  and  throw- 
ing of  stones.  The  lieutenant  kept  his  word.  He 
ordered  his  men  to  load.  They  did.  "Take  aim," 
he  ordered.  They  did.  "Fire."  They  did.  A  half 
dozen  of  the  hoodlums  fell  wounded.  The  shooting 
drew  a  larger  crowd.  The  lieutenant  ordered  his  men 
to  charge  with  bayonets.  The  crowd  which  stood  the 
bullets  could  not  stand  the  bayonets.  They  ran. 
The  ten  soldiers  who  were  inside  the  grove  rushed  out 
just  as  patrol  wagons,  filled  with  police,  arrived.  All 
of  the  twenty-one  men  were  arrested  and  taken  to  the 
Madison  Street  police  station,  presided  over  by  Police 
Justice  Walsh,  who  held  the  twenty-one  men  without 
bail.  After  they  were  committed  to  jail  their  women 
folk  brought  them  their  citizen's  clothes  and  took  their 
uniforms  home.  The  captain,  Prokop  Hudek,  engaged 
me  to  defend  the  men.  Some  of  the  leading  Bohemians 
started  a  subscription  list  for  a  defense  fund  and  twelve 
hundred  dollars  were  raised.  After  I  had  worked  on 
the  case  for  about  two  days  the  captain  called  on  me 
and  stated  that  inasmuch  as  a  defense  fund  had  been 
raised  he  had  decided  to  employ  Harry  Rubens  to 
assist  me  in  the  defense  of  the  case.  Rubens  and  I 
were  friends,  and  were  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  same 
year.  Both  Rubens  and  Hudek  were  socialistic  leaders 
at  that  time.     After  consultation  it  was  decided  to  sue 


36  REMINISCENCES 

out  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  for  the  twenty-one  men 
before  Judge  McAllister,  who,  issued  the  writ. 

The  assistant  prosecuting  attorney  called  a  number 
of  witnesses  at  the  hearing  and  proved  that  ten  men, 
by  order  of  a  lieutenant,  did  the  shooting,  and  that  the 
other  ten  men  forming  the  company  were  inside  of  the 
grove  and  took  no  part  in  the  shooting,  nor  in  the  bay- 
onet charge  that  followed.  Not  a  single  witness  for 
the  State  was  able  to  identify  any  one  of  the  eleven 
men  who  participated  in  the  shooting.  The  Judge 
held  that  since  only  eleven  of  the  twenty-one  men 
participated  in  the  shooting,  only  eleven  of  them  could 
be  held  under  any  circumstances;  that  ten  of  the 
twenty-one  men  were  certainly  innocent,  and  to  hold 
the  entire  twenty-one  would  mean  that  ten  innocent 
men  would  be  deprived  of  their  liberty,  which  could 
not  be  permitted;  that  since  no  one  of  the  men  had 
been  identified  as  having  participated  in  the  shoot- 
ing he  was  bound  to  discharge  them  all,  which  he 
accordingly  did.  Fortunately,  all  of  those  who  were 
wounded  by  the  shooting  recovered,  and  the  case  was 
dropped. 

A  very  important  question  was  then  presented  to 
the  young  lawyers  who  had  conducted  the  defense,  as 
to  how  much  they  should  charge  for  their  services.  A 
fund  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  had  been  raised ;  Rubens 
was  poor;  I  certainly  was  not  rich;  every  Bohemian  in 
Chicago  was  more  or  less  interested  in  the  case;  and 
we  finally  concluded  that  the  better  policy  was  to  make 
the  moderate  charge  of  two  hundred  dollars  each, 
which  was  computed  on  the  basis  of  ten  dollars  for  each 
of  the  men  involved,  with  the  lieutenant  thrown  in  for 
good  measure.     In  due  time  captain  Hudek  came  to 


THE  CITIZEN  37 

my  office  and  said  that  he  came  to  pay  me  for  my  ser- 
vices, and  the  following  conversation  took  place: 

Hudek — "How  much  do  we  owe  you?" 

Answer — "Two  hundred  dollars." 

"WHAT?  Two  Hundred  Dollars!     That's  too  much." 

"Have  you  paid  Rubens?" 

"Yes." 

"How  much  did  he  charge  you?" 

"Two  hundred  dollars." 

"Did  you  object  to  paying  it?" 

"No." 

"Then  why  do  you  object  to  paying  me  a  like  amount?  I 
did  most  of  the  work." 

"Rubens  is  a  German.  We  have  no  claim  on  him.  You 
are  our  countryman.  It  is  your  duty  to  do  something  for  us. 
How  much  will  you  take?" 

"My  fee  is  two  hundred  dollars.  You  can  either  pay  me 
that,  or  nothing." 

"Thank  you  ",  said  Hudek,  "  I  was  sure  you  would  not  charge 
us  anything.     Good-bye." 

The  services  in  that  case,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned, 
were  charged  to  the  negative  side  of  my  profit  and  loss 
account. 

On  the  New  Year's  night  following  the  trial  of  this 
case,  at  about  eleven  thirty,  two  young  Bohemians 
drove  up  to  my  home  in  a  carriage.  One  of  them  said 
that  his  uncle,  who  was  dying,  had  requested  me  to 
come  to  his  house  to  draw  his  will.  Drawing  a  will 
meant  not  only  the  fee  for  drawing  it,  but  also  a  fair 
chance  of  being  retained  to  handle  the  estate  in  the 
Probate  Court.  Getting  into  the  carriage  with  them 
I  rode  until  we  came  to  the  DeKoven  Street  Turner 
Hall,  which  I  noticed  was  lighted  up.  Here  the  carriage 
stopped,  the  two  young  men  got  out  and  asked  me  to 
get  out  also.  "  Your  uncle  is  not  dying  in  Turner  Hall, 
is  he?"  I  asked.  The  answer  was,  "No,  but  he  lives 
next  door."     Getting  out  of  the  carriage  I  was  im- 


38  REMINISCENCES 

mediately  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  young  men  who 
were  standing  in  front  of  the  Hall,  one  of  whom  stepped 
up  to  me  and  said:  "  Mr.  Kraus,  we  are  awaiting  you. 
We  are  your  friends.  Let  us  do  whatever  we  wish. 
Do  not  resist  us  because  we  mean  no  harm  to  you." 
Two  of  them  thereupon  took  hold  of  me,  lifted  me  up 
on  the  shoulders  of  two  other  men  and  carried  me  into 
Turner  Hall,  which  was  filled  with  people.  Near  the 
stage  I  was  put  down,  the  curtain  went  up,  and  there 
in  full  uniform  stood  the  twenty-one  men  and  the 
captain.  They  saluted  me,  whereupon  the  captain 
delivered  a  speech,  praising  me  as  a  great  lawyer  and 
a  loyal  Bohemian,  that  although  poor  I  had  refused  to 
take  any  money  from  the  boys  because  they  were  also 
poor,  and  that  to  show  their  appreciation  and  esteem 
the  boys  had  purchased  a  small  present  for  me.  At 
the  conclusion  of  his  speech  Captain  Hudek  handed  me 
a  gold  headed  cane.  The  next  day  the  Bohemian  daily 
paper  made  much  of  the  affair,  and  from  that  day  on 
for  many  years  afterwards  I  was  retained  in  nearly 
every  case  in  which  a  Chicago  Bohemian  was  interested. 
Their  incident  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  starting 
point  of  a  fairly  successful  career.  Three  years  after 
my  marriage  I  was  able  to  pay  for  what  was  then 
considered  a  very  good  stone  residence  on  Adams 
Street,  near  Ashland  Boulevard,  and  to  keep  a  horse 
and  buggy. 

One  of  my  first  clients,  who  remained  my  client  and 
valued  friend  for  a  period  of  forty-five  years  and  up 
to  the  day  of  his  death,  was  William  Kaspar.  When 
1  first  became  acquainted  with  Kaspar  he  was  the 
owner  of  a  grocery  store  on  Canal  Street.  About  the 
time   of   my   marriage   Kaspar   gave   up   the   grocery 


THE  CITIZEN  39 

business  and  opened  an  office  where  he  conducted  the 
business  of  Notary  Public,  fire  insurance  agent,  and 
real  estate  broker.  About  four  weeks  before  I  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  Kaspar  told  me  that  he  could  buy 
a  large  tract  of  land  upon  a  partial  payment  in  cash  of 
five  thousand  dollars,  which  he  would  be  able  to  sell 
at  a  large  profit.  He  invited  me  to  go  into  partnership 
with  him  on  the  deal  on  an  equal  basis.  The  trans- 
action looked  very  attractive  to  me  but  I  did  not  have 
the  twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  and  was  on  that 
account  unable  to  go  into  the  transaction  with  him. 
My  brother-in-law,  M.  M.  Hirsh,  had  a  starch  factory 
at  that  time  on  Archer  Avenue,  and  passed  this  land 
daily  in  going  to  and  from  his  factory  in  his  buggy. 
The  next  morning  after  my  conversation  with  Kaspar 
I  asked  Hirsh  to  take  me  along,  and  when  we  passed 
the  land  I  pointed  it  out  to  him  and  asked  him  what 
he  thought  of  it.  He  said  that  he  thought  it  would 
some  day  be  very  valuable.  I  then  asked  him  if  he 
would  loan  me  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  for  the 
purpose  of  buying  a  half  interest  in  the  land.  He  re- 
plied that  he  would,  but  asked  me  for  what  length  of 
time  I  wanted  the  money.  Reflecting  upon  this  I 
told  him  that  I  concluded  I  could  not  afford  to  borrow 
the  money,  for  if  Kaspar  should  be  unable  to  sell  the 
land  and  I  should  not  succeed  in  my  practice  when 
admitted  to  the  bar,  I  might  never  be  able  to  pay  him 
back,  and  accordingly  ought  not  to  borrow  the  money. 
I  advised  Hirsh  to  make  the  purchase  himself,  but  he 
replied  that  his  business  required  all  his  attention  and 
his  available  money.  The  land  referred  to  was  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Sixteenth  Street,  on  the  south  by 
Twenty-Second  Street,  on  the  east  by  Center  Avenue, 


40  REMINISCENCES 

and  on  the  west  by  Ashland  Avenue.  After  I  had  told 
Kaspar  that  I  was  unable  to  raise  the  money  he  in- 
duced Messrs.  Kralovec  and  Honomichl  to  go  into  the 
deal  with  him.  They  purchased  the  land,  subdivided 
it,  and  it  is  still  known  as  the  Kralovec  and  Honomichl 
Sub-Division.  In  a  very  few  months  they  realized 
enough  out  of  part  of  it  to  pay  for  the  entire  land,  and 
in  a  short  time  it  was  entirely  built  up.  Mr.  Kaspar 
erected  a  building  out  of  part  of  his  profits  on  the  corner 
of  Nineteenth  Street  and  Blue  Island  Avenue,  and 
opened  a  bank  there  in  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Karel, 
under  the  name  of  Kaspar  &  Karel.  The  business 
prospered  from  the  beginning  and  is  now  very  widely 
and  favorably  known  as  the  Kaspar  State  Bank. 

A  wholesale  dealer  in  flour,  named  Quinn,  conducted 
his  business  on  South  Water  Street.  Whenever  a 
debtor  owing  him  two-hundred  dollars  or  less  failed 
to  pay  promptly,  Quinn  would  sue  out  a  writ  of  at- 
tachment before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  levy  on 
everything  the  debtor  had,  invariably  asking  for  a 
jury  trial.  A  Mr.  Goldberg  kept  a  grocery  store  on 
Blue  Island  Avenue  and  dealt  with  Quinn.  Claim- 
ing that  Goldberg  owed  him  two  hundred  dollars 
Quinn  brought  an  attachment  suit  against  Goldberg 
in  which  he  levied  upon  two  thousand  dollars  worth  of 
merchandise  belonging  to  Goldberg.  The  writ  of  at- 
tachment was  issued  by  Justice  Sheridan,  who  was  a 
little  old  Irish  gentleman  who  always  tried  to  be  fair. 
I  was  engaged  by  Goldberg  to  defend  the  suit.  As 
usual  Quinn  asked  for  a  jury  trial  and  placed  the 
selection  of  the  jury  in  the  hands  of  constable  Murphy. 
I  advised  Goldberg  not  to  defend  the  case  in  the  justice 
court,  but  to  take  an  appeal  from  the  judgment  of  the 


THE  CITIZEN  41 

justice  to  the  circuit  court,  thereby  saving  the  expense 
of  a  trial  in  the  justice  court.  Goldberg,  however, 
insisted  upon  defending  the  suit  in  the  justice  court 
and,  knowing  the  constable,  I  appealed  to  him  to 
summon  a  decent  jury.  He  replied,  "The  plaintiff 
will  get  just  the  kind  of  a  jury  he  is  paying  for,  but 
since  you  on  a  certain  occasion  were  good  to  me  I  will 
not  forget  you." 

The  case  was  reached  for  trial.  Constable  Murphy 
brought  in  the  jury,  and  among  the  panel  was  one 
Joseph  Deimel,  whom  I  knew  very  well.  He  was  a  young 
business  man,  the  rest  of  the  panel  being  the  usual 
justice  jury  picked  from  among  the  loafers  and  toughs 
on  the  street.  The  jury  was  accepted  by  both  sides 
and  sworn.  Deimel  evidently  did  not  like  the  looks 
of  his  fellow  jurors,  for  when  he  took  his  overcoat  off 
he  turned  and  handed  it  to  me,  saying,  "Adolf,  please 
take  care  of  my  coat."  The  plaintiff's  lawyer,  seeing 
and  hearing  this,  turned  deadly  pale.  Not  the  slight- 
est evidence  was  introduced  by  the  plaintiff  upon  which 
any  attachment  could  have  been  sustained.  But  not- 
withstanding this  the  jury,  after  staying  out  three 
hours,  brought  in  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff.  Deimel 
coming  to  me  for  his  coat,  said:  "It  was  my  fault  that 
you  had  to  wait  so  long  for  a  verdict.  This  is  the  first 
time  I  ever  served  on  a  jury.  Eleven  of  the  jurors 
voted  for  the  plaintiff.  That  is  the  way  we  stood  all 
the  time.  Finally  one  of  the  jurors  said  to  me:  'What 
have  you  against  Kraus  and  his  client,  Mr.  Goldberg?' 
I  said,  'I?  Why  I  am  voting  for  the  defendant  all  the 
time.'  The  other  juror  said:  'You  are  a  greenhorn. 
Mr.  Kraus  represents  the  plaintiff.  We  are  against 
Quinn  and  are  voting  for  Goldberg.     You  say  Quinn 


42  REMINISCENCES 

is  in  the  wrong  and  yet  you  are  voting  for  him.  Quinn 
is  the  defendant.'  The  rest  of  the  jurors  confirmed  his 
statement  and  then  I  apologized  and  voted  for  the  plain- 
tiff. I  wouldn't  vote  for  that  fellow  Quinn  if  I  had  to 
stay  out  all  year.  He  was  trying  to  commit  an  outrage." 

I  did  not  know  whether  to  laugh  or  get  angry.  I 
appealed  the  case  to  the  circuit  court  and  when  the 
case  was  reached  for  trial  on  appeal  Quinn  did  not 
even  appear  and  the  case  was  dismissed.  In  another 
suit  Goldberg  recovered  damages  against  Quinn  for 
wrongfully  suing  out  the  attachment  in  that  case. 

One  Mrs.  Truby  kept  a  music  store  for  about  twenty 
years  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Halsted  and  Randolph 
Streets.  When  her  lease  expired  and  she  applied  to  her 
landlord  for  a  renewal,  she  found  that  he  had  leased 
the  premises  to  a  competitor  of  Mrs.  Truby.  Without 
giving  Mrs.  Truby  an  opportunity  to  contest  in  court 
his  right  to  the  premises,  as  she  desired  to  do,  the  new 
tenant  took  forcible  possession  of  the  place  and  moved 
all  of  Mrs.  Truby's  effects,  including  musical  instru- 
ments, out  into  the  street  while  it  was  raining.  The 
effect  of  moving  and  the  rain  upon  the  musical  instru- 
ments was  not  beneficial,  and  Mrs.  Truby  sued  the 
new  tenant  for  five  thousand  dollars  damages.  I 
represented  Mrs.  Truby  and  at  the  trial  proved  the 
forcible  eviction  and  the  damage  to  Mrs.  Truby's 
piano  and  other  property,  caused  by  the  rain. 

The  defendant  was  represented  by  William  J.  Hynes, 
then  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  eloquent  lawyers  in  the 
city  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Hynes  called  as  witnesses  the 
persons  who  had  dispossessed  Mrs.  Truby,  all  of  whom 
testified  that  it  did  not  rain  on  the  day  of  the  eviction 
at    all.     Mr.    Hynes    called    as    witnesses,    also,    two 


THE  CITIZEN  43 

Catholic  priests,  who  testified  that  on  that  particular 
day  they  had  officiated  at  the  funeral  of  a  brother 
priest  and  that  at  the  very  time  the  plaintiff's  witnesses 
claimed  it  had  rained,  they  were  returning  from  the 
cemetery  in  an  open  carriage,  and  that  no  rain  fell. 
On  cross-examination  they  admitted  that  they  were 
at  no  time  on  that  day  near  Randolph  and  Halsted 
Streets,  their  journey  being  from  Calvary  Cemetery, 
through  Lincoln  Park  to  their  home  on  the  south  side. 
The  next  witness  called  by  the  defense  was  a  govern- 
ment bureau  man,  who  brought  his  record  with  him 
and  testified  that  according  to  his  record  it  did  not  rain 
on  the  day  in  question.  On  cross-examination  he  stated 
that  he  made  his  observations  at  the  Auditorium  tower, 
which  was  a  mile  away  from  Randolph  and  Halsted 
Streets.  Mr.  Hynes,  as  usual,  made  a  very  able  and  elo- 
quent argument  to  the  jury,  which,  so  far  as  their  action 
and  expression  indicated,  seemed  to  be  convincing. 

In  opening  the  closing  argument  for  the  plaintiff  I 
spoke  as  follows: 

"We  are  familiar  with  the  Biblical  story  of  how  the  daughter 
of  Pharaoh,  the  king  of  Egypt,  found  little  Moses  in  the  bulrushes 
and  brought  him  home.  In  Jewish  literature  it  is  stated  that 
soon  after  this  event  Pharaoh  was  troubled  with  strange  dreams, 
which  worried  him  so  that  he  sent  for  the  wise  men  in  Egypt  to 
explain  their  significance.  The  wise  men  unanimously  agreed 
that  the  dreams  signified  that  some  day  the  little  boy  whom  the 
princess  brought  home  would  destroy  the  king,  and  they  advised 
him  to  have  the  boy  put  to  death.  Hearing  of  this,  however, 
the  princess  interceded  for  the  boy's  life  and  demanded  that  the 
wise  men  furnish  proof  that  they  understood  the  significance  of 
dreams.  The  wise  men  thereupon  said:  'Get  a  pan.  Fill  it 
with  glowing  coals.  Put  the  child  on  the  table.  On  one  side 
of  him  place  the  king's  crown,  which  does  not  glisten,  and  on  the 
other  side  place  the  glowing  coals.  If  the  child  be  an  ordinary 
child  it  will  be  attracted  by  the  glowing  coals,  and  will  reach  for 
them.     If,  however,  it  is  as  we  say,  the  child  will  reach  for  the 


44  REMINISCENCES 

king's  crown.'  The  king  ordered  that  the  test  be  made.  The 
child  started  to  reach  for  the  crown,  but  an  angel  struck  his  face 
so  that  the  child  fell  with  his  little  hand  touching  the  burning 
coals.  A  piece  of  live  coal  adhering  to  his  finger  he  thrust  the 
finger  into  his  mouth  and  burned  his  tongue.  That  story, 
gentlemen  of  the  jury,  was  probably  written  to  explain  why 
Moses,  when,  as  the  Bible  tells  us,  the  Lord  commanded  Moses 
to  go  to  Pharaoh  and  demand  the  freedom  of  the  Jews,  answered, 
'Lord,  I  cannot  speak.  My  tongue  is  heavy,'  whereupon  the 
Lord  said:  'Take  your  brother  Aaron  with  you  and  let  him 
speak.'  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  you  have  listened  to  my  dis- 
tinguished friend,  William  Hynes,  probably  the  most  eloquent 
member  of  the  Chicago  Bar.  How  can  I  secure  your  attention? 
My  tongue,  although  not  burned,  is  heavy.  It  is  too  late  for 
me  to  retain  a  brother  Aaron  of  the  Bar  to  speak  for  my  client. 
I,  myself,  must  finish  the  argument." 

I  then  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  forcible 
eviction  of  Mrs.  Trilby  had  not  been  denied,  and  that 
the  only  disputed  question  was  whether  or  not  the  rain 
had  injured  the  musical  instruments.  Calling  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  eviction  took  place  during  the 
summer  season  I  admitted  that  undoubtedly  the 
priests  and  government  bureau  man  spoke  the  truth 
when  they  said  that  it  did  not  rain  where  they  were, 
but  that  they  were  from  one  to  three  or  four  miles 
away  from  the  corner  of  Halsted  and  Randolph  Streets, 
and  that  every  merchant  in  the  neighborhood  of  that 
corner  testified  for  the  plaintiff  that  it  did  rain;  that 
it  was  a  well  known  fact  that  in  the  summer  season  it 
sometimes  rains  on  one  side  of  the  street  and  not  on 
the  other  side.  After  the  argument  the  jury  retired 
and  brought  in  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff  for  five 
thousand  dollars,  the  sum  sued  for,  and  in  due  course 
the  defendant  paid  that  amount.  Years  afterwards 
Judge  Clifford,  who  presided  in  that  case,  told  me  that 
he  had  a  clearer  recollection  of  the  argument  made  in 
that  case  than  any  other  case  tried  in  his  court. 


THE  CITIZEN  45 

A  certain  young  lady  was  engaged  to  be  married, 
the  wedding  day  was  set,  the  wedding  feast  was  spread, 
the  minister,  the  guests,  and  the  bride  with  the  wed- 
ding veil  on,  awaited  the  coming  of  the  groom,  but — 
alas! — he  did  not  come.  The  inconstant  groom  was 
the  owner  of  a  small  grocery  store  near  Milwaukee 
Avenue,  to  which  place  a  messenger  was  sent  to  find 
him  and  bring  him  forth.  The  messenger  found  the 
object  of  his  search  in  the  store  waiting  on  customers, 
and  asked  him  why  he  was  not  at  the  place  appointed 
for  the  wedding,  to  which  he  answered  that  he  had 
changed  his  mind.  The  following  day  the  young  lady 
in  question  came  to  my  office  seeking  revenge.  I 
suggested  that  she  bring  suit  against  her  changeful 
lover  for  damages.  She  asked  me  how  long  it  would 
take  before  the  case  would  be  reached,  to  which  I  re- 
plied that  owing  to  the  congested  condition  of  the  court 
calendar  it  would  take  at  least  one  year,  and  probably 
more.  She  was  not  satisfied  with  this.  She  said  that 
his  grocery  store  was  worth  a  few  hundred  dollars,  and 
that  if  by  some  speedy  action  it  could  be  taken  away 
from  him  that  was  all  she  desired.  I  told  her  that  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  had  jurisdiction  in  any  assumpsit 
suit  up  to  two  hundred  dollars,  and  that  if  she  would 
be  satisfied  with  a  judgment  for  two  hundred  dollars 
she  could  probably  have  that  within  five  days.  She 
instructed  me  to  bring  suit  in  the  justice  court  at  once, 
which  I  did,  and  she  obtained  a  judgment  for  two 
hundred  dollars.  She  swore  out  an  immediate  execu- 
tion, a  levy  was  made  on  the  grocery  store,  which  was 
sold  for  enough  to  pay  the  judgment  and  costs.  When 
the  money  was  tendered  to  the  young  lady  she  said: 
"I  wouldn't  touch  that  fellow's  money  if  it  were  a 


46  REMINISCENCES 

million.  All  I  wanted  was  revenge.  Let  the  lawyer 
keep  the  money."  That  was  probably  the  only  breach 
of  promise  suit  that  was  ever  tried  before  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace  in  Illinois. 

In  the  summer  of  1880,  a  suit  was  brought  before  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  against  David  Mayer  for  two  hun- 
dred dollars  damages.  Mayer  and  the  plaintiff  were 
dickering  over  the  purchase  by  Mayer  of  the  plain- 
tiff's horse,  and  in  connection  with  the  transaction 
Mayer  was  permitted  to  have  the  horse  for  one  day 
on  trial.  He  drove  it  for  some  distance  beyond  the 
city  limits,  and  in  the  evening  stopped  at  a  tavern  for 
dinner.  The  horse  had  been  driven  fast  enough  to 
become  quite  warm  and  in  this  condition  was  hitched 
without  a  blanket  while  Mayer  ate  his  dinner.  As  a 
consequence,  when  the  horse  was  returned  to  the 
owner  it  was  in  a  stiffened  condition,  and  the  suit  was 
for  damage  to  the  horse. 

I  was  retained  to  represent  the  plaintiff,  and  when 
the  case  came  up  for  trial  David  Mayer  appeared  in 
court  with  his  younger  brother,  Levy  Mayer,  and  Zach 
Hoffheimer,  as  his  attorneys.  Levy  Mayer  was  then 
a  clerk  in  the  Law  Institute.  The  court  rendered  judg- 
ment in  favor  of  the  plaintiff  for  $200.00  and  Mayer 
took  an  appeal. 

In  the  trial  of  that  case  young  Levy  impressed  me  so 
favorably  that  shortly  afterwards  I  took  him  into 
partnership  with  me. 

In  1874,  Charles  Stein,  who  many  years  afterwards 
became  a  member  of  Stein  Brothers,  was  a  clerk  in  the 
Railroad  Postal  Service,  having  secured  his  job  through 
Congressman  Ward,  in  whose  district  Stein  lived. 
Ward  was   Republican  candidate  for  re-election  and 


THE  CITIZEN  47 

Stein  told  me  that  if  Ward  should  be  defeated  he  would 
lose  his  job,  and  appealed  to  me  to  help  Ward.  I 
agreed  to  do  this  and  Stein  brought  me  to  the  Con- 
gressman and  introduced  me  to  him.  The  majority 
of  Bohemian  voters  in  Chicago  lived  in  Ward's  district. 
Ward  told  me  that  if  I  would  get  some  of  my  country- 
men out  to  vote  on  election  day,  he  would  furnish  me 
with  a  horse  and  buggy  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
them  to  the  voting  places. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  election  day,  accompanied 
by  Charles  Stein,  I  appeared  at  Ward's  headquarters 
and  asked  for  the  horse  and  buggy.  Ward  said,  "If 
you  want  to  ride,  pay  for  it,"  and  gave  me  no  further 
attention.  I  said  to  Stein,  "Do  not  trust  that  fellow. 
He  lied  to  us.  I  will  now  at  my  own  expense  do  what 
I  can  to  defeat  him."  In  those  days,  owing  to  the 
system  of  conducting  elections  at  that  time  it  was 
possible  to  do  very  effective  work  at  the  polls,  and  there 
I  worked  throughout  the  entire  day  inducing  my 
friends  who  intended  to  vote  the  straight  Republican 
ticket  to  vote  for  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Con- 
gress. When  the  votes  were  counted  it  was  found  that 
the  Democratic  candidate  was  elected  by  a  majority 
of  six  votes.  The  Democratic  candidate  in  that  con- 
test was  Carter  Henry  Harrison.  Years  afterwards 
Harrison  told  me  he  voted  for  Ward,  but  when  he 
found  how  nearly  he  came  to  defeating  himself  in  so 
doing  he  decided  that  thereafter  whenever  he  was  a 
candidate  he  would  vote  for  the  best  man,  as  a  duty 
owing  to  himself  and  to  the  public. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Harrison  took  his  seat  in  Congress 
he  was  invited  to  a  banquet  in  Philadelphia.  At  that 
banquet  a  congressman  from  Iowa  who  was  scheduled 


48  REMINISCENCES 

to  answer  to  the  toast  "Our  Agriculture,"  failed  to 
appear.  Without  any  warning  the  toastmaster  called 
on  Mr.  Harrison  to  answer  the  toast.  Mr.  Harrison 
afterwards  said  that  when  he  arose  to  speak  he  was 
very  nervous  and  did  not  know  what  to  say.  He 
began  his  speech  as  follows:  "I  represent  a  District 
in  Congress  which  is  three  miles  long  and  one  mile 
wide,  but  it  raises  more  wheat  than  any  congressional 
district  in  America.  It  raises  it  by  means  of  elevators." 
Great  applause  followed  and  Mr.  Harrison,  thus  en- 
couraged, delivered  a  very  good  address. 

The  Chicago  Times  was  then  owned  and  edited  by 
Wilbur  F.  Storey.  It  was  the  pioneer  in  sensational 
headlines,  in  which  respect  it  easily  held  first  place 
among  the  newspapers  of  the  country.  To  illustrate: — 
In  reporting  the  hanging  of  one  who  had  been  convicted 
of  murder  the  headline  read,  "Jerked  to  Jesus!"  The 
article  referring  to  Mr.  Harrison's  speech  in  Philadelphia 
was  headlined  as  follows:  "Carter  H.  Harrison  Makes  a 
Hit  in  Philadelphia.  Who  in  Hell  is  Carter  H?  Why  it  is 
Our  Carter."  From  that  time  during  the  remainder  of  Mr. 
Harrison's  life  he  was  known  in  Chicago  as* 'Our  Carter." 

One  day  during  the  fall  campaign  of  1880,  Mr. 
Hoffman  of  the  law  firm  of  Brandt  &  Hoffman  called 
at  my  office  and  told  me  that  Mr.  Wentworth  who  had 
been  nominated  for  the  legislature  had  refused  to 
accept  the  nomination,  that  the  campaign  committee 
had  decided  to  place  me  on  the  ticket  for  that  office  in 
place  of  Wentworth,  and  that  Hoffman  had  been  in- 
structed to  call  and  tender  me  the  nomination.  I  de- 
clined the  honor  and  Hoffman  so  reported  to  the  com- 
mittee, but  returned  in  about  a  half  hour  with  the 
message  that  the  campaign  committee  would  like  to 


THE  CITIZEN  49 

have  me  come  at  once  to  their  headquarters.  I  went 
with  Hoffman  and  upon  arriving  at  the  headquarters 
was  introduced  immediately  to  the  chairman,  Mr. 
Harrison,  which  was  the  first  time  we  had  met.  Har- 
rison in  glowing  colors  pictured  the  future  possibilities 
for  a  member  of  the  legislature  who  had  brains  and 
made  a  good  record,  and  urged  me  to  accept  the  nomi- 
nation. I  replied  that  I  appreciated  the  honor 
tendered  me,  but  for  the  present,  at  least,  I  had  no 
political  ambition ;  that  my  ambition  was  to  be  success- 
ful as  a  lawyer;  that  I  had  so  far  secured  a  sufficient 
practice  to  enable  me  to  support  my  family,  which  the 
salary  a  member  of  the  legislature  then  received  was 
not  sufficient  to  do  after  paying  out  of  it  the  expenses 
of  living  in  Springfield  during  the  sessions  of  the  legisla- 
ture; that  if  elected  I  would  either  have  to  neglect  my 
practice,  which  I  could  not  afford  to  do,  or  my  duty  as 
a  member  of  the  legislature,  which  I  would  not  do;  and 
that  accordingly  it  was  out  of  the  question  for  me  to 
accept  the  candidacy  even  if  certain  of  election;  that  I 
suspected  that  the  honor  was  tendered  in  the  expecta- 
tion of  thereby  securing  for  the  national  ticket  the 
votes  of  those  citizens  whose  cradles  stood  in  Bohemia; 
that  very  few,  if  any,  Bohemians  lived  in  my  district, 
and  if  I  should  accept  the  nomination  I  should  naturally 
expend  all  my  efforts  upon  my  own  district,  in  order 
not  to  be  defeated,  whereas  if  someone  else  should  be 
selected  I  should  be  free  to  work  for  the  national 
ticket  in  the  Bohemian  district,  where  my  labors  might 
be  more  effective.  Mr.  Harrison  thanked  me  and  said 
that  he  approved  of  my  position. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  first  elected  Mayor  of  Chicago  in 
the  spring  of  1879.     Late  one  evening  in  June  of  1881, 


50  REMINISCENCES 

a  newspaper  reporter  called  me  up  on  the  ' phone  and 
informed  me  that  the  mayor  had  appointed  me  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Education  and  that  the  Council 
had  confirmed  the  appointment.  The  appointment 
was  for  a  term  of  three  years,  no  salary  being  attached 
to  membership  on  the  Board,  which  then  consisted  of 
fifteen  members.  The  Mayor  often  said  that  my 
appointment  was  the  most  convenient  he  had  ever 
made,  because  he  thereby  gave  representation  to  the 
Bohemians,  Germans,  and  Jews.  Mayor  Harrison 
never  allowed  politics  to  influence  him  in  the  selection 
of  school  board  members,  and  in  those  years  the  Board 
of  Education  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  people. 
The  majority  of  the  Board  members  were  men  who 
helped  to  make  Chicago's  history,  such  as  Fred  W. 
Peck,  E.  G.  Keith,  General  Stiles,  John  M.  Clark, 
Graeme  Stewart,  Rudoph  Brand,  James  R.  Doolittle,  Jr., 
Thomas  Breman,  and  other  well  known  citizens.  The 
Board  met  every  Wednesday  evening,  the  principal 
work,  however,  being  done  at  committee  meetings. 

Most  of  the  meetings  were  very  interesting  and 
harmonious.  The  first  year  I  served  as  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Text  Books.  During  this  time  the 
Board  decided  to  change  certain  school  books  and  ad- 
vertised for  bids.  One  day  an  agent  representing  a 
certain  publishing  house  came  to  my  office  and  told 
me  that  the  firm  he  represented  had  decided  to  engage 
a  lawyer  in  Chicago  by  the  year ;  that  they  were  willing 
to  pay  an  annual  retainer  fee  of  three  thousand  dollars, 
with  the  customary  additional  fees  in  case  of  litigation ; 
that  he  had  recommended  my  firm  and  was  authorized 
to  retain  us  and  to  give  us  a  check  for  the  first  year's 
retainer.     I  told  him  I  would  consider  the  matter  and 


THE  CITIZEN  51 

let  him  know  the  following  day.  After  discussing  the 
proposition  with  my  partner  we  concluded  that  three 
thousand  dollars  a  year  with  the  possibility  of  addition- 
al fees  did  not  grow  on  every  bush,  and  that  we  should 
accept  the  offer.  The  next  day  when  the  agent  called 
I  advised  him  of  our  acceptance  of  his  offer  and  he 
thereupon  offered  me  a  check  for  three  thousand 
dollars.  I  told  him  I  could  not  accept  the  check  until 
the  following  Tuesday,  at  which  time  I  would  be  glad 
to  receive  it,  and  upon  his  asking  the  reason,  I  said: 
"I  am  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education.  The 
City  Council  meets  on  Monday.  I  shall  send  my 
resignation  to  the  Mayor  today  so  that  he  can  appoint 
my  successor  on  Monday.  On  next  Tuesday,  there- 
fore, I  will  be  out  of  office  and  will  then  be  at  liberty  to 
accept  your  retainer."  "But,"  he  said,  "you  must 
not  resign.  We  want  you  on  the  Board."  "Oh!" 
said  I.  "You  do  not  want  to  retain  me  as  a  lawyer; 
you  want  to  hire  me  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education.  Please  oblige  me  by  getting  out  of  my 
office."  He  left,  but  returned  next  day  and  said, 
"Excuse  me  for  coming  again,  but  please  give  me  a 
chance  to  apologize.  I  am  one  of  the  deacons  of  my 
church.  When  I  went  home  last  evening,  before 
going  to  bed  I  got  down  on  my  knees  and  prayed  to 
the  Lord  to  forgive  me  for  the  sin  I  committed.  I  felt 
very  much  humbled  to  have  been  taught  a  lesson  in 
Christianity,  'Lead  us  not  into  temptation,'  by  one 
who  is  not  a  Christian."  "Please  spare  yourself  all 
further  trouble,"  I  said,  "I  never  had  any  intention  of 
voting  for  your  book,  and  never  will  vote  for  it."  At 
the  next  meeting  of  the  Committee  on  Text  Books  I  re- 
lated my  experience  with  the  agent  and  named  the 


52  REMINISCENCES 

company  he  represented.  The  books  of  that  company 
were  not  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Education. 

In  the  spring  of  1884,  William  Kaspar  was  the 
Republican  nominee  for  alderman  against  Frank  Law- 
lor,  then  one  of  the  Democratic  leaders  of  the  city. 
Kaspar  had  always  been  a  loyal  friend  to  me  and  I  did 
what  I  could  to  help  his  candidacy.  The  ward  was 
strongly  Democratic,  however,  and  Lawlor  was  elected. 

In  June  of  that  year  my  term  of  office  as  member  of 
the  Board  of  Education  expired  and  the  Mayor  re- 
appointed me.  Instead  of  being  promptly  confirmed, 
as  before,  on  motion  of  Lawlor,  my  name  was  sent  to 
a  committee.  Lawlor  was  determined  to  prevent  my 
confirmation.  I  met  Lawlor  one  day  and  asked  him 
whether  he  intended  to  persist  in  his  attempt  to  pre- 
vent my  confirmation.  Lawlor  said,  "Yes.  You 
came  into  my  ward  and  tried  to  defeat  me.  It  was 
your  turn  then.  It  is  my  turn  now.  You  should  have 
borne  in  mind  that  it  is  a  long  lane  that  has  no  turn." 
I  replied,  "You  won  in  spite  of  my  opposition.  I  will 
win  in  spite  of  yours,  and  perhaps  some  day  you  will 
discover  that  some  lanes  have  more  than  one  turn." 

I  was  then  one  of  Mr.  Harrison's  political  advisers. 
I  informed  the  Mayor  of  Lawlor's  attitude  and  the 
reason  for  it,  and  said:  "I  do  not  care  for  the  office, 
but  I  do  not  wish  to  be  defeated.  Lawlor  is  making 
it  a  personal  matter  and  may  succeed.  If  you  want 
me  confirmed  you  can  do  it  by  sending  for  every 
alderman,  one  at  a  time,  and  telling  each  of  them  that  if 
he  votes  against  the  selection  you  made  you  will  dis- 
charge every  city  employee  appointed  at  his  request." 
The  Mayor  did  so.  At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Council 
the  appointment  was  confirmed  with  only  two  votes 


THE  CITIZEN  53 

against  me — those  of  Lawlor  and  an  aldermanic  friend 
of  his  from  the  fifth  ward. 

I  was  elected  President  of  the  Board  of  Education 
for  the  year  1884-1885.  The  following  year  I  was  again 
nominated  for  President,  but  declined,  and  Mr.  James 
R.  Doolittle,  Jr.,  the  son  of  ex-Senator  Doolittle,  was 
nominated  and  elected.  When  the  time  for  the  election 
for  1886-1887  was  at  hand,  Mr.  Doolittle  said  he  would 
not  be  candidate  for  re-election  and  urged  me  to  take 
the  office  again.  Graeme  Stewart,  a  member  of  the 
Board,  who  afterwards  became  Republican  candidate 
for  Mayor,  also  urged  me  to  accept  and  announced  me 
as  a  candidate  for  the  office.  A  few  days  after  this  Mr. 
Doolittle  changed  his  mind  and  also  became  a  can- 
didate.    I  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  one  vote. 

The  schools  owned  considerable  property  which  was 
leased  to  tenants  on  the  basis  of  six  per  cent  upon  the 
valuation,  with  a  provision  for  revaluation  every  five 
years.  The  revaluation  which  took  place  while  I  was 
on  the  Board  resulted  in  an  increase  over  the  previous 
valuation  of  more  than  one  hundred  per  cent,  which 
was  not  in  any  case  in  excess  of  the  actual  value.  A 
vigorous  protest  was  made  by  some  of  the  tenants, 
while  others  accepted  the  new  valuation.  The  tenants 
who  had  foresight  enough  to  accept  the  new  valuation 
upon  condition  that  revaluation  should  thereafter  be 
waived,  secured  thereby  some  very  valuable  property 
rights.  Among  the  tenants  who  felt  that  a  wrong  was 
done  them  in  the  revaluation  was  Mr.  Joseph  Medill, 
then  owner  of  the  Chicago  Tribune  and  lessee  of  the 
southeast  corner  of  Dearborn  and  Madison  Streets. 
Objecting  tenants  appealed  to  the  courts  for  relief. 
Those  who  contested  now  have  to  pay  upon  a  valuatio  n 


54  REMINISCENCES 

many  times  greater  than  the  valuation  they  protested, 
while  the  Daily  News,  heirs  of  John  M.  Smyth,  and 
others  who  accepted  the  appraisals  made  in  1885, 
have  for  many  years  paid  what  turned  out  to  be  a  very 
low  rental. 

The  Board  of  Education  advertised  for  sealed  bids 
for  a  fifty  year  lease,  with  provision  for  revaluation 
every  five  years,  of  the  property  on  which  the  Harrison 
Street  Railroad  Depot  was  afterwards  built.  At  that 
time  a  Mr.  Miller  occupied  the  property  with  a  lumber 
yard.  One  day  a  certain  manufacturer  whom  I  knew 
fairly  well,  came  to  my  office  and  said  that  he  repre- 
sented Mr. who  had  put  in  a  sealed  bid  for  the 

fifty  year  lease,  and  that  if  I,  being  chairman  of  the 

committee,  would  so  arrange  it  that  Mr. would 

secure  the  lease,  he,  the  manufacturer,  would  give  me 
five  thousand  dollars.  I  told  him  that  but  for  the  fact 
that  I  was  under  some  obligation  to  his  family  for  kind 
treatment  in  years  gone  by,  I  would  kick  him  out  of 
my  office,  and  said :  "  I  do  not  know  what  your  friend's 
bid  is  and  will  not  know  until  all  the  bids  are  opened 
in  the  presence  of  all  the  members  of  the  committee. 
You  want  to  give  me  five  thousand  dollars!  Tell  your 
friend  to  put  in  a  new  bid  and  increase  his  offer 
by  a  thousand  dollars  a  year.  That  may  make  him 
the  highest  bidder,  and,  if  so,  he  will  secure  the  lease 
honestly. "  He  answered,  "No,  because  when  the  five 
years  are  up  we  would  have  to  pay  at  least  as  much  as 
during  the  first  five  year  term,  and  probably  more." 
When  the  bids  were  opened  another  party  was  the  high- 
est bidder,  and  the  lease  was  awarded  to  him.    The 

difference  between  the  highest  bid  and  that  of  Mr. 

was  considerably  less  than  a  thousand  dollars.     In  less 


THE  CITIZEN  55 

than  two  years  the  railroad  company,  desiring  the  land 
for  a  depot,  purchased  the  lease  from  the  tenant  and 
rumor  had  it  that  the  tenant  received  for  his  lease  the 
tidy  sum  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

During  the  years  that  I  was  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Education  a  Mr.  Zimmerman  was  Superintendent 
of  German  instruction  in  the  public  schools.  He  also 
was  editor  of  a  weekly  German  newspaper.  One  day 
he  published  a  savage  anti-Semitic  editorial.  When 
he  was  asked  why  he  did  so  he  answered,  "  Those  are 
not  my  sentiments,  but  the  readers  of  my  paper  like 
such  stuff,  wherefore  I  published  it."  At  one  of  the 
committee  meetings  at  which  all  the  members  of  the 
Board  were  present,  that  editorial  was  discussed.  One 
of  the  members  suggested  that  Zimmerman  was  not  a 
fit  man  to  be  connected  with  the  Chicago  schools  and 
should  be  dropped  at  the  end  of  the  term.  That  met 
with  approval  of  all  the  members,  and  I  was  appointed 
a  committee  of  one  to  select  his  successor.  Hearing  of 
this  Mr.  Zimmerman  called  on  me  one  day  and  asked 
me  whether  it  was  true  that  I  was  looking  for  his 
successor.  I  answered  that  it  was.  Zimmerman  then 
begged  to  be  allowed  two  weeks'  time  to  appeal  to  the 
members  of  the  Board  to  retain  him  in  his  office.  I 
said,  "The  editorial  you  wrote  was  not  one  to  be  ex- 
pected from  a  superintendent  of  schools  in  an  American 
city,  and  the  reason  you  gave  for  publishing  it  made  it 
worse.  If  I  do  not  give  you  time  it  might  be  said  that 
I  am  trying  to  take  revenge.  I  will  give  you  a  week's 
time.  If  you  cannot  convince  the  members  of  your 
fitness  within  a  week,  you  will  not  be  able  to  convince 
them  in  a  year."  Zimmerman  found  an  advocate  in 
Mrs.  Bauer,  a  charming  German  lady,  who  called  on 


56  REMINISCENCES 

the  members  of  the  Board  in  his  behalf.  She  stated 
that  he  admitted  the  impropriety  of  his  act,  was  very 
sorry  and  would  never  again  give  cause  for  complaint; 
that  he  had  surrendered  the  editorship  and  his  interest 
in  the  paper.  The  next  time  the  members  of  the  Board 
met  I  was  asked  whether  I  would  consent  to  give 
Zimmerman  another  chance,  to  which  I  responded 
promptly  that  I  would.  Zimmerman  remained  Super- 
intendent of  German  until  the  time  of  his  death,  and 
never  again  gave  the  slightest  cause  for  complaint. 

The  northwest  corner  of  Harrison  and  Clark  Streets, 
with  a  large  frontage  on  Clark  Street,  was  school  prop- 
erty. James  Goggin  held  a  fifty  year  lease  on  the 
property  and  was  always  in  arrears  for  rent.  At  one 
time  he  was  fully  a  year  in  arrears,  and  although  re- 
peatedly requested  to  pay  failed  to  do  so.  As  President 
of  the  Board  of  Education  I  instructed  the  attorney 
of  the  Board  to  serve  Goggin  a  five  day  notice  to  pay 
rent  or  vacate  the  premises.  As  soon  as  notice  was 
served  Goggin  paid  the  rent,  but  from  that  time  on, 
whenever  Goggin  met  me  he  failed  to  see  me. 

Some  years  afterwards,  however,  Goggin  was  nomi- 
nated by  the  Democratic  party  for  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court.  The  Evening  Post  interviewed  several  lawyers 
as  to  Goggin's  qualification  for  that  position.  Among 
them  I  was  the  only  one  interviewed  who  spoke  well  of 
him.  The  next  day  after  the  interview  was  published 
Goggin  called  on  me  and  said,  "Kraus,  I  thought  you 
were  my  enemy.  I  now  find  that  you  are  my  friend." 
"What  made  you  think  I  was  your  enemy?"  I  asked. 
"You  tried  to  have  my  lease  terminated,"  he  said, 
"and  that  lease  represents  all  I  am  worth."  "What 
did  you  expect?"  I  asked.      "You  were  collecting  rent 


THE  CITIZEN  57 

from  your  tenants  and  failed  to  pay  rent  to  the  Board. 
I  knew  you  would  pay  if  served  with  notice.  I  was 
only  discharging  my  duty  to  the  public,  as  I  was  bound 
to  do.  You  have  a  good  lease.  Why  did  you  not  pay 
your  rent  when  it  was  due?"  "I  am  surprised  that 
you  ask  me  such  a  foolish  question, "  he  replied. 
"Don't  you  know  that  it  is  against  an  Irishman's 
nature  to  pay  rent?" 

Carter  H.  Harrison  was  re-elected  Mayor  of  the 
city  in  1881-83-85.  He  was  again  nominated  in  1887, 
but  refused  to  accept.  The  race  was  then  between  the 
Republican  candidate,  Mr.  Roche,  and  a  Socialist 
candidate,  the  Democratic  party  having  no  candidate 
in  that  election      Mr.  Roche  was  elected. 

In  the  spring  of  1889,  Mr.  John  A.  King,  President 
of  the  Fort  Dearborn  Bank,  was  a  candidate  for  the 
Democratic  nomination,  and  I  was  selected  to  present 
his  name  at  the  convention.  The  chairman  of  one  of 
the  ward  delegations  offered  to  deliver  the  vote  of  that 
entire  ward  to  Mr.  King  in  consideration  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars,  a  proposition  which  Mr.  King  of  course 
refused  to  consider. 

About  that  time  burglaries  and  holdups  were  very 
numerous  in  Chicago.  In  concluding  the  speech  before 
the  convention  in  which  I  placed  Mr.  King  in  nomina- 
tion, I  said,  "If  the  gentleman  whose  name  I  am  about 
to  submit  is  nominated  he  will  certainly  be  elected,  and 
if  elected  he  will  drive  every  burglar  and  holdup  man 
out  of  the  city."  The  Chairman  of  the  ward  who 
offered  to  deliver  his  ward  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
cast  the  entire  vote  of  that  ward  for  Mr.  Cregier,  and 
although  Cregier  did  not  buy  that  delegation  its  vote 
was  sufficient,  nevertheless,  to  give  Cregier  the  majority. 


58  REMINISCENCES 

A.  S.  Trude  and  myself  officed  in  the  same  building. 
Trude  favored  King's  nomination,  and  on  the  way  to 
our  offices  from  the  convention  Trude  said  to  me, 
''You  defeated  King.  You  said  that  if  King  should  be 
elected  he  would  drive  every  holdup  man  out  of  town. 
I  was  surprised  to  hear  you  make  such  a  statement. 
It  showed  bad  judgment  on  your  part.  Your  state- 
ment frightened  most  of  the  delegates  away  from  King, 
for  none  of  them  wanted  to  be  driven  out  of  the  city." 

I  was  one  of  the  campaign  managers  for  Cregier  in 
the  campaign  that  followed.  Shortly  after  his  nomi- 
nation Cregier  called  on  Harrison  and  asked  for  his 
support,  which  Harrison  refused.  Cregier  thereupon 
went  to  the  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  and 
tendered  his  resignation,  saying  that  he  could  not  be 
elected  with  Harrison  opposing  him.  At  the  request 
of  the  Committee  I  called  on  Harrison  and  asked  him, 
on  behalf  of  the  Democratic  Committee,  to  support 
Cregier.  Harrison  promised  to  attend  one  of  the 
Democratic  meetings  and  to  speak  in  favor  of  Cregier. 
When  I  reported  this  to  the  committee  Cregier  was 
delighted.  After  he  was  elected  he  manifested  his 
appreciation  by  rejecting  every  person  that  I  recom- 
mended for  appointment  to  office.  This  action  of 
Cregier  was  doubtless  based  upon  the  fear  that  persons 
appointed  upon  my  recommendation  would  at  the  next 
election  be  for  Harrison  instead  of  Cregier,  and  he 
was  desirous  of  building  up  his  own  organization.  I 
considered  his  action  a  challenge  to  Harrison  and 
promptly  accepted  it  as  such.  Within  sixty  days  after 
Cregier  was  elected  Mayor  I  organized  a  club  with 
several  thousand  members,  which  was  known  as  the 
"Carter  H.  Harrison  for  Mayor  in  1891  Club."     The 


THE  CITIZEN  59 

club  grew  in  strength  and  soon  had  a  complete  organi- 
zation in  every  ward  in  the  city. 

Party  primaries  in  those  days  were  held  under  a 
system  which  was  controlled  by  party  leaders  and  not 
by  state  law.  It  was  not  unusual  in  some  of  the  city 
wards  for  election  judges  at  a  so-called  primary  to 
sign  a  certificate  of  election  even  before  the  first  vote 
was  cast. 

In  the  spring  of  1891,  Cregier  and  Harrison  were 
both  mayoralty  candidates  for  the  Democratic  party 
nomination.  Cregier  controlled  the  political  machine; 
Harrison  had  the  votes;  but  Cregier  had  most  of  the 
election  judges. 

In  one  of  the  precincts  of  the  eleventh  ward,  the 
ward  in  which  Harrison  lived,  the  judges  sat  behind 
closed  doors,  with  challengers  and  watchers  on  the  out- 
side. A  small  hole  was  cut  in  the  door  about  six  feet 
above  the  floor,  through  which  the  voter  was  required 
to  reach  up  and  deposit  his  ballot.  What  was  done 
with  the  ballot  on  the  inside  nobody  on  the  outside 
could  tell,  but  in  this  precinct  the  Cregier  delegates 
were  certified  to  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  Simi- 
lar methods  were  adopted  in  a  few  other  precincts. 

In  the  precinct  on  West  Madison  Street,  in  the 
block  east  of  Ogden  Avenue,  the  votes  were  cast  in 
the  ratio  of  approximately  two  votes  for  Harrison  to 
one  for  Cregier.  Notwithstanding  this,  two  of  the 
judges  signed  a  certificate  showing  the  election  of  the 
Cregier  delegates,  and  handed  it  to  the  third  judge  for 
signature.  Now  it  turned  out  that  the  ward  boss  had 
made  a  mistake  in  the  selection  of  the  third  judge,  who 
was  an  ex-prize-fighter  and  favored  Harrison.  He 
said  to  the  other  two,  "I  will  not  sign  this,  but  you 


60  REMINISCENCES 

either  sign  a  correct  return  or  fight,  and  I  am  ready  to 
whip  both  of  you."  They  reluctantly  signed  a  correct 
return  and  I  was  one  of  the  delegates  elected  from 
that  precinct. 

On  the  day  following  the  primary  the  convention 
was  held  in  the  north  side  Turner  Hall.  The  majority 
of  the  delegates  held  Cregier  credentials.  The  Harri- 
son Committee  contested  the  delegation  from  several 
wards,  knowing,  however,  that  they  would  not  receive 
a  hearing.  The  chairman  of  the  convention  appointed 
a  committee  on  credentials  composed  exclusively  of 
Cregier  delegates.  The  committee  reported  against 
every  contest,  but  before  the  report  was  put  to  a  vote 
of  the  convention,  as  leader  of  the  Harrison  delegation 
I  arose  and  said: — "Mr.  Chairman — before  a  vote  is 
taken  on  this  report  I  ask  the  Harrison  delegates  to 
retire  with  me  for  consultation."  All  the  Harrison 
delegates  rose,  left  Turner  Hall  and  marched  to  Uhlich 
Hall,  which  had  been  rented  for  that  purpose.  A 
brass  band,  which  had  also  been  previously  engaged, 
escorted  the  delegates  to  Uhlich  Hall.  There  the 
organized  Democratic  Convention  seated  the  contest- 
ants and  a  full  city  ticket  was  nominated  with  Harrison 
as  the  candidate  for  Mayor.  The  other  convention 
likewise  put  up  a  Democratic  ticket  with  Cregier  as 
the  candidate  for  Mayor.  The  Republican  Conven- 
tion nominated  Hempstead  Washburne,  whereupon 
some  of  the  dissatisfied  Republicans  held  another  con- 
vention and  nominated  a  ticket  with  Elmer  Wash- 
burne as  Mayor. 

On  election  day  Carter  Harrison  received  more 
votes  than  any  other  candidate  within  the  old  city 
limits.    However,  when  the  votes  from  Lakeview  came 


THE  CITIZEN  61 

in  Hempstead  Washburne  was  slightly  in  the  lead. 
As  the  town  of  Lake  was  democratic  it  appeared  that 
Harrison  would  surely  be  elected,  since  he  always 
carried  the  town  of  Lake  by  a  large  majority,  but  until 
after  midnight  not  a  single  return  came  in  from  the 
town  of  Lake.  It  was  learned  afterwards  that  the 
returns  from  the  town  of  Lake  were  held  back  in  order 
to  ascertain  how  many  votes  Cregier  might  need  to  be 
elected.  It  seems  that  the  person  in  the  City  Hall 
whose  business  it  was  to  tabulate  the  returns  and  de- 
termine the  number  of  votes  needed  by  Cregier  made 
a  mistake  of  two  thousand  in  his  addition,  the  result 
being  that  more  votes  were  actually  needed  for  Cregier 
than  he  reported  as  necessary.  The  returns,  when 
they  were  finally  received,  showed  a  remarkable  in- 
crease in  the  normal  vote  of  that  territory.  Precincts 
which  never  before  polled  more  than  three  hundred 
votes  came  in  with  more  than  five  hundred  votes, 
nearly  all  of  which  were  for  Cregier,  the  few  remain- 
ing votes  scattered  among  the  three  other  candidates 
being  the  only  thing  to  indicate  that  the  sentiment 
for  Cregier  was  not  quite  unanimous.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  valiant  efforts  on  behalf  of  Cregier  the  final 
result  showed  that  Hempstead  Washburne  had  a  plur- 
ality of  a  few  hundred  votes  and  he  was  declared 
elected. 

Carter  Harrison  was  a  wonderful  campaigner.  He 
never  forgot  a  face  nor  a  name.  Large  crowds  attend- 
ed wherever  he  was  advertised  to  speak.  I  accompa- 
nied him  to  many  of  his  meetings.  One  evenrng  he 
was  advertised  to  speak  in  the  Bohemian  Turner  Hall 
on  Taylor  Street,  then  in  the  Aurora  Turner  Hall  on 
Milwaukee  Avenue,  and  finally  in  the  negro  district 


62  REMINISCENCES 

on  the  South  Side.  We  drove  first  to  the  Taylor  street 
Turner  Hall.  On  the  way  he  asked  me  to  teach  him 
a  few  words  in  Bohemian  which  he  could  use  in  con- 
cluding his  speech.  I  taught  him  to  say,  "Pfeju  Vam 
Trikrate  Na  Zdar."  (I  wish  you  three  times  "Na 
Zdar.")  The  words  "Na  Zdar"  are  used  by  the  Bohem- 
ians when  they  greet  each  other,  when  they  say  "good 
bye,"  when  they  drink  to  each  other's  health,  etc. 

In  the  Bohemian  Turner  Hall,  Harrison  spoke  prin- 
cipally about  his  experiences  in  Bohemia.  He  said  he 
had  traveled  in  Bohemia  from  one  end  to  the  other,  on 
foot  with  a  knapsack  on  his  back  and  a  cane  in  his 
hand.  He  spoke  of  the  beautiful  valleys,  mountains, 
streams,  cities,  mentioning  the  different  cities  which  he 
visited,  and  describing  what  he  saw  there.  In  speaking 
of  each  city  or  part  of  the  country  he  would  ask,  "By 
the  way,  is  there  any  one  here  from  that  city?"  and  a 
number  would  answer  "Yes."  Continuing,  he  would 
say:  "While  in  that  city  I  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  So  and 
So, "  naming  some  distinguished  citizen  of  that  city  and 
telling  of  his  family,  etc.  As  he  went  on  mentioning  the 
different  cities,  giving  names  of  people  he  met  there,  the 
people  in  the  audience  who  came  from  that  particular 
city  would  rise  and  cheer.  He  concluded  by  saying, 
"While  the  scenes  in  that  beautiful  land  impressed  me 
greatly,  nothing  delighted  me  more  than  the  beautiful 
women  of  Bohemia.  If  I  had  not  been  a  married  man 
I  would  never  have  left  Bohemia  without  bringing 
home  one  of  those  beautiful  Bohemian  girls  as  my 
bride.  I  must  go  now  to  another  meeting,  so  in  con- 
clusion 'Pfeju  Vam  Trikrate  Na  Zdar'."  When  he 
said  that,  all  present  rose  and  cheered  and  many 
followed  him  out  into  the  street  shouting  "Na  Zdar." 


THE  CITIZEN  63 

From  there  we  went  to  Aurora  Turner  Hall,  where  he 
addressed  a  meeting  of  Scandinavians.  There  he  de- 
livered an  address  on  city  affairs  and  concluded  as 
follows:  "I  traveled  several  weeks  in  Scandinavia,' ' 
mentioning  the  various  places  he  visited.  "  I  was  very- 
much  interested  in  that  country,  and  particularly  because 
of  the  claim  that  originally  the  Harrisons  were  all 
Scandinavians.  You  know  it  is  claimed  that  originally 
the  name  was  "Arrison;"  that  some  generations  back 
one  of  the  Arrisons  was  foolish  enough  to  emigrate  to 
England.  The  Englishmen  in  pronouncing  the  name 
Arrison  put  an  h  on  it,  and  that  is  how  my  family 
came  by  the  name,  Harrison.  I  expect  of  you,  my 
Scandinavian  friends,  that  you  will  not  forget  my 
ancestry  and  that  you  will  vote  for  me  on  election  day. 
Will  you  do  it?  "  They  shouted,  "We  will, "  and  they  did. 

From  the  Scandinavian  meeting  we  drove  to  the 
South  Side  meeting  in  the  negro  district,  and  although 
the  hour  was  late  the  hall  was  crowded.  In  concluding 
his  speech  at  this  meeting  he  said: — "I  was  born  in 
Kentucky.  A  good  old  mammy  raised  me,  and  if  you 
will  look  at  my  hair  (pointing  to  the  back  of  his  neck) 
you  will  see  that  it  is  just  the  least  bit  kinky.  I  need 
say  no  more  on  that  subject,  but  I  expect  every  one  of 
you  to  vote  for  me."  And  in  this  expectation  he  was 
not  disappointed. 

In  the  1893  primary  there  were  three  Democratic 
candidates  for  the  nomination,  Carter  Harrison,  W.  C. 
Cregier,  and  Washington  Hessing.  A  majority  of  the 
delegates  elected  were  for  Harrison.  The  convention 
was  held  in  the  Central  Music  Hall.  Cregier  and  Hess- 
ing contested  some  of  the  wards  and  the  committee  on 
contests  was  out  several  hours.     While  waiting  for  the 


64  REMINISCENCES 

committee's  report,  as  leader  of  the  Harrison  delega- 
tion I  was  informed  that  an  attempt  would  be  made  to 
buy  a  certain  ward  delegation  whose  chairman  did  not 
have  the  best  of  reputations.  Thinking  I  might  be 
able  to  frighten  him  and  thus  prevent  his  selling  out, 
I  said  to  him,  ''There  is  a  report  here  that  the  chairman 
of  one  of  the  delegations  has  been  offered  considerable 
money  if  he  votes  his  delegation  against  our  candidate. 
Preparations  are  being  made  to  tar  and  feather  him  if 
he  sells  out."  The  chairman  in  question  grabbed  hold 
of  me  and  said,  "For  God's  sake,  tell  me  quick  who  has 
the  money."  That  chairman,  through  the  purifying 
effect  of  a  subsequent  election  to  Congress,  became  an 
honorable  gentleman — at  least  by  reputation. 

While  the  convention  proceedings  were  in  progress 
Harrison  was  sitting  back  of  the  stage,  where  I  reported 
to  him  from  time  to  time.  After  several  hours  of  wait- 
ing he  said  that  he  was  very  tired  and  that  he  would 
go  into  the  office  of  a  friend  in  the  adjoining  building 
to  rest.  I  asked  him  not  to  do  that,  that  no  one  could 
tell  what  might  happen  or  at  what  moment  he  might 
be  needed  there.  I  had  hardly  spoken  when  Cregier 
and  Hessing  came  on  the  stage,  arm  in  arm,  and  were 
received  with  tremendous  applause  from  their  dele- 
gates, who  kept  it  up,  hoping  thereby  to  stampede  the 
convention  for  one  or  the  other  of  them.  I  asked 
Harrison  to  go  on  the  stage  at  once  and  remain  there 
as  long  as  the  other  candidates  did.  As  soon  as  he 
was  observed  his  delegates  set  up  a  mighty  cheer,  and 
the  cheering  for  all  three  candidates  became  so  riotous 
and  was  so  prolonged  that  finally,  in  order  to  stop  it, 
all  three  candidates  were  obliged  to  retire.  Soon  after- 
w  ards  the  committee  on  contests  came  in  and  reported 


THE  CITIZEN  65 

the  contested  delegation  in  Harrison's  favor,  and  upon 
the  ensuing  roll  call  of  delegates  he  was  nominated. 

In  his  campaign  for  election  the  English  language 
press,  with  one  exception,  did  not  support  him.  The 
exception  was  the  Chicago  Times,  which  was  owned 
by  two  stockholders — Harrison,  who  held  95  per  cent 
of  the  stock,  and  myself,  the  remainder.  Nearly  every 
foreign  language  newspaper  in  Chicago  supported  him 
and  he  was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  The  term  of 
office  which  he  entered  upon  in  the  spring  of  1893  was 
his  last.  When  he  made  up  his  cabinet  he  tendered 
me  the  office  of  Corporation  Counsel.  The  annual 
salary  paid  the  Corporation  Counsel  at  that  time  was 
very  little  more  than  my  average  monthly  income  from 
my  law  practice.  The  Mayor,  who  had  been  a  widower 
for  some  years,  was  engaged  to  be  married  to  a  charming 
lady,  and  the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago  was  about  to  be 
opened.  He  accordingly  asked  me  to  accept  the 
position  until  after  his  marriage  and  the  Fair  was  over 
and  then  resign  if  I  felt  like  it,  as  he  wanted  me  to  look 
after  the  city's  affairs  during  his  temporary  absence  in 
connection  with  these  matters.  I  consulted  with  my 
partners,  who  agreed  that  I  might  take  a  vacation  until 
the  first  of  January  following,  retaining  my  interest  in 
the  firm  with  the  understanding  that  during  my  term 
of  office  the  firm  should  not  accept  any  claim  or  case 
against  the  city.  Upon  taking  charge  of  the  Corpora- 
tion Counsel's  office  I  selected  as  assistants  Sigmund 
Zeisler  for  chancery  cases,  Clarence  Darrow  as  trial 
lawyer  in  jury  cases,  and  John  Mayo  Palmer  for  the 
drafting  of  ordinances.  Before  I  had  named  them  the 
Mayor  said  to  me,  "I  would  like  to  have  you  appoint 
Mr. as  First  Assistant.     In  my  young  days  I 


66  REMINISCENCES 

admired  his  mother,  and  I  am  told  that  he  is  a  good 
lawyer."  I  replied,  "Mr.  Harrison,  I  am  going  to  be 
held  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  this  office.  The 
man  you  recommend  may  be  a  better  man  than  I  have 
selected,  but  I  do  not  know  him.  I  would  very  much 
like  to  have  as  my  assistants  men  in  whom  I  have  full 
confidence.  I  have  selected  Messrs.  Zeisler,  Darrow 
and  Palmer."  Mr.  Harrison  said,  "That  is  a  strange 
selection.  Zeisler  and  Darrow  opposed  my  candidacy 
for  Mayor."  "If  you  object  to  them,"  I  said,  "I  will 
select  others  and  will  keep  on  doing  so  until  you  are 
satisfied."  "Don't  do  that,"  he  replied.  "Appoint 
the  men  you  have  selected.  That  will  be  one  way  of 
making  friends  out  of  enemies."  The  men  I  had 
selected  were  appointed. 

Upon  the  opening  day  of  the  World's  Fair  in  1893, 
and  in  connection  with  that  important  event,  Grover 
Cleveland,  President  of  the  United  States,  came  to 
Chicago  on  a  special  train.  Arrangement  was  made  for 
the  Mayor  to  meet  the  President's  train  at  the  state 
line  to  welcome  him  and  accompany  him  to  the  Fair 
grounds,  and  a  special  train  consisting  of  an  engine  and 
a  passenger  car  was  secured  for  the  purpose  of  convey- 
ing the  Mayor  to  the  state  line.  The  only  passengers 
on  that  train  were  the  Mayor  and  the  Corporation 
Counsel.  At  the  state  line  we  met  the  President's 
train  and  entered  the  President's  car.  The  President 
and  Mr.  Harrison  shook  hands,  Mr.  Harrison  introduced 
his  Corporation  Counsel  and  then  asked  for  Mrs. 
Cleveland.  The  President  replied  that  she  was  in  the 
drawing  room  in  the  rear  end  of  the  car.  Mr.  Harrison 
then  went  to  talk  with  her,  leaving  me  with  the  Presi- 
dent.    It  was  almost  an  hour  before  the  train  reached 


THE  CITIZEN  67 

the  station  and  during  all  of  this  time  the  President  and 
I  were  alone  in  the  front  end  of  the  car  talking.  Dur- 
ing the  conversation  the  President  said,  "Mr.  Kraus,  I 
am  sure  I  have  met  you  before."  We  had  never  met, 
but  inasmuch  as  he  was  the  President  of  the  United 
States  I  felt  he  should  not  be  contradicted  and  therefore 
said,  "Mr.  President,  you  have  a  remarkable  memory. 
You  visit  many  cities,  see  thousands  of  people  who  are 
introduced  to  you,  they  pass  on,  and  yet,  a  long  time 
afterwards,  you  remember  their  faces." 

About  two  years  afterwards  I  became  the  owner  of 
the  Chicago  Times,  under  circumstances  which  will  be 
stated  later.  The  Times  was  a  Democratic  paper  but 
for  nearly  two  years  had  been  opposing  Mr.  Cleveland. 
When  I  took  charge  of  it,  its  policy  in  this  respect  was 
changed,  and  the  statement  was  published  that  the 
Times  was  a  Democratic  paper  and  would  support  the 
Democratic  administration,  which  it  proceeded  to  do. 

A  short  time  afterwards  business  in  connection 
with  the  newspaper  called  me  to  New  York  and  thence 
to  Washington.  On  the  day  of  my  expected  departure 
from  Washington  I  happened  to  meet  Judge  Gresham, 
then  Secretary  of  State.  He  said,  "I  am  glad  you  are 
here.  I  know  the  President  would  like  to  see  you. 
I  will  make  arrangements  to  have  him  see  you  to- 
morrow afternoon."  I  expressed  regret  at  my  inabil- 
ity to  stay  over  until  next  day,  explaining  that  I  had 
to  be  in  Chicago  on  that  day,  but  said  that  if  the  Presi- 
dent wanted  to  see  me  I  would  come  any  later  time 
the  President  might  suggest.  Judge  Gresham  replied, 
"Wait  here  a  few  minutes.  I  will  go  to  the  White 
House  and  see  what  the  President  has  to  say."  On 
his  return  he  said,  "The  President  will  see  you  now." 


68  REMINISCENCES 

I  felt  somewhat  flattered  that  I  had  made  such  a 
good  impression  on  the  President  the  day  the  World's 
Fair  was  opened  that  he  not  only  remembered  me, 
but  desired  to  see  me  again.  At  the  White  House  the 
President  received  me  cordially  and  after  we  were  seated 
he  began  asking  questions  concerning  the  local  political 
situation  in  Chicago  and  whether  certain  appointments 
he  had  made  in  the  Chicago  district  were  satisfactory 
to  the  people.  I  answered  the  questions  as  best  I 
could  when  suddenly  the  President  asked  a  question 
which  shocked  me  severely.  The  question  was:  "Mr. 
Kraus,  how  comes  it  that  you  and  I  have  never  met 
before?"  Not  having  fully  recovered,  and  under  these 
circumstances  feeling  that  the  President  of  my  country 
must  be  right  I  answered,  "Mr.  President,  you  live  in 
Washington  and  are  a  very  busy  man.  I  live  in 
Chicago  and  am  also  a  busy  man.  That  may  account 
for  your  statement  that  you  and  I  have  never  met. 
I  understand  from  Secretary  Gresham  that  this  is  the 
day  you  receive  the  diplomats.  I  feel  highly  honored 
that  in  spite  of  that  fact  you  have  permitted  me  to  call. 
I  must  therefore  not  trespass  on  your  time."  The 
interview  ended  there,  and  I  reluctantly  came  to  the 
the  conclusion  that  Judge  Gresham's  motive  in  arrang- 
ing the  interview  was  not  that  the  President  might 
meet  Kraus,  the  lawyer,  but  Kraus,  the  editor  of  the 
Chicago  Times,  who  had  converted  an  anti-adminis- 
tration newspaper  into  a  friendly  one. 

A  number  of  hotels  were  constructed  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  World's  Fair  grounds  to  accommodate 
the  exhibitors  and  others  who  came  to  the  Fair.  At 
these  hotels  wines  and  liquors  were  served,  and  one 
day  Mr.  Arthur  Burrage  Farwell,  leader  of  the  Anti- 


THE  CITIZEN  69 

Saloon  League  in  Chicago,  came  to  the  Corporation 
Counsel  and  asked  for  an  opinion  as  to  whether  or  not 
the  sale  of  liquors  in  those  hotels  was  legal.  The 
World's  Fair  grounds  were  in  that  part  of  the  town  of 
Hyde  Park  which  before  annexation  to  the  city  was 
prohibition  territory  and  therefore,  according  to  law, 
remained  so  after  annexation.  I  answered  that  I  was 
there  to  give  legal  opinions  to  the  Mayor,  City  Council, 
and  heads  of  departments,  and  that  was  all.  Mr. 
Farwell  next  called  on  the  Chief  of  Police,  who  asked 
the  Corporation  Counsel  for  an  opinion  as  to  his  duties 
in  the  premises.  Briefly  stated,  the  opinion  to  the 
Chief  was:  "The  district  in  which  the  World's  Fair 
grounds  are  located  is  a  prohibition  district.  The  sale 
of  intoxicants  in  that  territory  is  prohibited  by  law. 
It  is  your  duty  to  cause  the  arrest  of  those  who  violate 
that  law.  It  is,  however,  also  your  duty,  and  in  my 
opinion  a  paramount  duty,  to  protect  the  people  of 
the  city  and  its  guests  against  thieves,  robbers,  and 
holdup  men.  If  you  find  that  your  forces  are  sufficient 
to  perform  properly  this  paramount  duty  and  also  to 
ascertain  what  the  guests  of  the  city  are  drinking,  it  is 
your  duty  also  to  arrest  all  those  who  are  violating  the 
prohibition  laws  in  that  district."  The  Chief  decided 
that  his  police  force  was  not  sufficient  to  perform  the 
latter  duty  while  the  Fair  was  going  on,  and  the  hotels 
were  not  molested.  Promptly  after  the  Fair  closed, 
however,  that  district  was  made  dry. 

The  flat  roof  of  the  Manufacturing  Building  of  the 
Fair,  from  which  a  full  view  of  the  fair  grounds  could 
be  had,  was  used  for  promenading.  Hundreds  of 
people  were  on  the  roof  daily.  One  day  the  Building 
Inspector   of   the   city   reported    to    the    Corporation 


70  REMINISCENCES 

Counsel  that  upon  receiving  complaints  that  the  roof 
was  not  safe  he  sent  his  men  there  to  inspect,  but  that 
the  World's  Fair  Commissioners  ordered  them  out, 
saying  that  the  city  had  surrendered  that  territory  to 
the  Government  during  the  World's  Fair  and  that  as 
long  as  the  Fair  lasted  it  was  solely  under  the  control 
of  the  Government  and  the  city  could  not  interfere. 
I  gave  the  following  advice : 

"Assuming,  without  conceding,  that  the  Commissioners' 
contention  that  the  Government  has  exclusive  jurisdiction  over 
the  World's  Fair  is  correct,  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  city 
has  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  the  streets  which  lead  to  the  Fair 
grounds.  You  will  therefore  place  a  sufficient  number  of  police- 
men on  the  streets  in  front  of  each  entrance  to  the  World's  Fair 
ground  and  allow  no  one  to  enter  until  you  are  satisfied  that  the 
Manufacturing  Building  is  safe  for  them  to  visit." 

This  was  telephoned  to  the  Commissioners'  office  and 
within  a  few  minutes  I  received  a  message  from  the  Com- 
missioners' office  to  the  effect  that  the  city  might  make 
such  inspection  as  it  desired.  The  building  was  promptly 
inspected  and  the  roof  was  found  to  be  perfectly  safe. 

During  the  summer  vacation  of  1893  my  oldest  son, 
Albert,  was  eleven  years  of  age.  I  thought  it  would 
be  a  good  thing  to  keep  the  boy  with  me  for  part  of 
each  day  and  give  him  something  to  do,  so  I  took  him 
to  the  City  Hall  and  installed  him  as  a  sort  of  office 
boy  during  the  forenoons,  giving  him  the  afternoons 
off  to  play  with  his  boy  friends.  A  small  desk  was 
placed  for  him  alongside  mine.  He  sat  there  faith- 
fully and  kept  a  record  of  every  one  who  came  in.  I 
arranged  with  the  City  Comptroller  to  pay  the  boy 
five  dollars  a  week  out  of  funds  furnished  by  myself. 
On  Saturday  noon  the  boy  went  to  the  Comptroller's 
office  to  draw  his  salary,  and  in  a  few  minutes  came 


THE  CITIZEN  71 

back  with  a  ten  dollar  bill  and  told  me  that  the  Comp- 
troller had  said  that  he  was  worth  at  least  ten  dollars 
a  week.  Of  course  I  had  to  make  it  good.  One  day, 
after  returning  from  a  consultation  in  the  Mayor's 
office,  I  found  the  boy  had  made  a  sign  and  put  it  on 
his  desk,  which  read,  "  Albert  Kraus,  Assistant  Cor- 
poration Counsel."  He  had  really  nothing  to  do,  but 
he  earned  his  salary  by  his  excellent  behavior. 

One  day  John  Barton  Payne  called  on  me  concern- 
ing a  law  suit  against  the  city,  in  which  he  represented 
the  plaintiff.  It  was  just  a  few  days  before  a  Demo- 
cratic convention  was  to  be  held  in  which  a  candidate 
for  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  was  to  be  nominated, 
and  the  Mayor  had  asked  me  to  assist  him  in  finding  a 
suitable  candidate.  Mr.  Payne  made  such  a  favorable 
impression  on  me  that  I  asked  him  about  his  politics. 
He  answered  that  he  was  a  Democrat.  "How  would 
you  like  to  be  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court?"  I  asked. 
He  replied  that  he  would  like  it  very  much  but  he 
would  never  be  able  to  secure  a  nomination.  I  told 
him  that  the  next  convention  might  nominate  him.  I 
suggested  his  name  to  Mr.  Harrison,  and  Payne  was 
nominated  and  elected.  He  made  a  splendid  judge. 
After  serving  a  few  years  he  resigned  to  become  a 
member  of  a  leading  law  firm  of  Chicago.  In  1918 
he  became  General  Counsel  of  the  United  States 
Shipping  Board,  later  Chairman  of  the  United  States 
Shipping  Board,  then  Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  the  cab- 
inet of  President  Wilson;  afterwards  he  was  appointed 
Director  General  of  Railroads,  and  Chairman  of  the 
American  Red  Cross.  President  Harding  later  ap- 
pointed him  a  member  of  the  Commission  which 
negotiated  a  treaty  between  this  country  and  Mexico. 


72  REMINISCENCES 

For  many  years  the  Chicago  River  was  a  convenient 
reservoir  for  the  deposit  of  sewage,  waste,  and  refuse 
of  all  kinds,  until  its  waters  became  thick  with  the  foul 
smelling  accumulation.  In  the  effort  to  relieve  the 
situation  the  city  contracted  for  pumps  for  the  purpose 
of  cleaning  it  out.  When  the  pumps  were  installed 
the  City  Engineer  rejected  them  because  they  were  so 
poorly  constructed  they  would  operate  only  a  short 
time  at  best.  The  refusal  of  the  city  to  accept  the 
pumps  threw  the  manufacturer  of  them  into  insolvency 
and  he  made  an  assignment  in  the  County  Court  for 
the  benefit  of  his  creditors.  Ex-Judge  Richard  Prende- 
gast,  as  counsel  for  the  assignee,  offered  to  let  the  city 
keep  the  pumps  if  the  city  would  pay  approximately 
twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  contract  price.  I  asked  the 
City  Engineer  whether  in  his  opinion  the  pumps  would 
last  until  the  World's  Fair  was  over,  and  whether  in 
the  meantime  they  would  work  sufficiently  to  relieve 
the  stench  which  emanated  from  the  river.  His 
opinion  was  that  they  would  last  and  do  the  work  for 
a  few  months,  if  carefully  handled.  I  concluded  that 
if  the  foul  stench  could  be  stopped  for  a  period  of  a  few 
months  it  would  be  worth  the  money,  and  told  Prende- 
gast  that  if  the  County  Court  would  approve  the 
settlement  the  city  would  pay  the  proposed  twenty- 
five  per  cent.  The  court  approved  the  settlement  and 
the  money  was  paid.  About  two  weeks  afterwards 
the  pumps  gave  out  completely  and  had  to  be  dis- 
carded. The  newspaper  reporters  called  on  the  Mayor 
and  asked  him  what  he  had  to  say.  I  was  willing  to 
accept  the  blame,  but  the  Mayor  said,  "We  did  the 
best  we  knew  how,  but  we  made  a  mistake."  That 
ended  all  criticism. 


THE  CITIZEN  73 

The  railroad  grade  crossings  in  the  city  had  become 
an  ever  increasing  peril  and  ordinances  had  been  passed 
requiring  the  railroads  to  elevate  their  tracks.  These 
Mr.  Harrison  was  anxious  to  have  enforced.  He  began 
with  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  and  I  had  made  an 
appointment  to  meet  the  officers  of  that  road  for  a 
conference,  which  fact  had  been  published  in  the  news- 
papers. At  the  time  set  for  the  conference  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  road,  with  his  attorneys,  came  to 
Chicago  and  called  at  the  Corporation  Counsel's  office. 
While  the  parties  were  discussing  the  situation  loud 
talking  was  heard  in  the  anteroom.  I  opened  the  door 
slightly,  saw  a  number  of  persons  standing  in  front  of 
the  door,  among  them  a  priest  who  tried  to  enter,  and 
asked  what  was  wanted.  The  priest  answered,  "We 
desire  to  go  into  your  office.  We  understand  that  you 
have  a  conference  with  the  officials  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  and  we  desire  to  be  present  at  the  conference 
and  urge  track  elevation.  I  represent  the  people  and 
therefore  have  a  right  to  be  present  and  take  part  in 
the  conference."  "  You  no  doubt  represent  your  parish 
and  do  it  well,"  I  said,  "but  I  represent  the  people 
in  this  conference.  I  did  not  invite  the  officials  of  the 
railroad  to  a  public  meeting  and,  therefore,  cannot  ask 
them  to  take  part  in  a  public  meeting.  I  am  sorry  to 
have  to  deny  you  admission,  but  I  cannot  do  otherwise." 

One  of  the  evening  newspapers  published  the  state- 
ment that  I  had  insulted  Father  Kelly.  The  next  day 
Father  Kelly  called  at  the  office,  accompanied  by  Tom 
Gahon,  who  was  then  Chairman  of  the  County  Demo- 
cratic Committee.     Father  Kelly  said: 

"I  came  here  to  apologize  for  calling  on  you  yesterday  as  I 
did.     My  intention  in  coming  was  to  watch  you.     I  am  very 


74  REMINISCENCES 

much  interested  in  having  the  tracks  elevated  because  a  number 
of  people  in  my  parish  are  killed  by  railroad  trains  every  year. 
My  experience  has  taught  me  that  some  of  our  public  officials 
need  watching.  I  did  not  know  you  and  thought  you  might 
be  one  of  them.  The  fact  that  you  refused  me  admission  did 
not  offend  me,  nor  did  I  construe  it  as  an  indication  that  you 
were  afraid  to  have  me  know  what  was  going  on.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  impressed  me  favorably.  From  what  Tom  Gahon  and 
others  have  told  me,  I  am  now  satisfied  that  you  do  not  need 
watching.  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  trust  you  and  have  come 
here  this  morning  to  tell  you  so. 

Some  time  afterwards  Father  Kelly  invited  me  to  a 
dinner  at  his  rectory,  and  I  was  glad  to  accept. 
Priests  from  all  the  neighboring  parishes  were  present 
and  the  dinner  was  a  happy  occasion  in  every  way. 
Afterwards,  at  a  dinner  given  by  myself  upon  resigning 
as  Corporation  Counsel,  and  at  which  acting  Mayor 
Mr.  Swift  and  a  number  of  other  leading  citizens  were 
present,  Father  Kelly  sat  on  my  right.  I  felt  that  I 
had  won  his  friendship  and  I  valued  it  highly. 

When  the  Eighteenth  Street  bridge  and  viaduct 
were  built  the  owner  of  a  certain  corner  property  along 
the  viaduct,  in  which  he  kept  a  saloon,  found  that  his 
building  was  about  twenty  feet  below  the  new  grade  of 
the  street.  He  sued  the  railroad  company  for  damag- 
ing his  property  and  recovered  a  judgment  of  ten 
thousand  dollars.  The  railroad  company  appealed  to 
the  Appellate  Court,  which  reversed  the  judgment  on 
the  ground  that  the  plaintiff's  claim,  if  any  he  had, 
was  against  the  city  and  not  against  the  railroad 
company.  The  plaintiff  thereupon  sued  the  city. 
That  case  came  on  for  a  hearing  while  I  was  Corpora- 
tion Counsel.  The  records  of  the  first  case  showed  that 
the  plaintiff's  real  estate  experts  claimed  that  the 
property  before  the  viaduct  was  built  was  worth  twenty- 


THE  CITIZEN  75 

two  thousand  dollars  and  after  the  viaduct  was  finished 
less  than  half  of  that  sum. 

Adjoining  that  property  on  the  south  was  a  large 
manufacturing  plant.  I  sent  one  of  my  assistants  to 
the  president  of  that  company  and  inquired  whether 
he  would  be  willing  to  buy  the  corner  for  twenty-two 
thousand  dollars,  and  to  say  that  if  he  wanted  the 
property  at  that  figure  and  would  send  me  a  certified 
check  for  that  amount  I  would  either  procure  him  a 
deed  to  the  property  or  return  the  check.  The  check 
was  sent.  When  the  case  came  on  again  for  trail  the 
plaintiff's  witnesses  again  testified  as  they  did  at  the 
first  trial.  The  plaintiff  was  put  on  the  stand,  proved 
his  title  and  testified  that  before  the  viaduct  was  built 
his  property  was  worth  twenty-two  thousand  dollars, 
that  after  the  viaduct  was  finished  it  was  worth  less 
than  ten  thousand  dollars.  On  cross  examination  I 
asked : 

"Are  you  willing  to  sell  that  property?" 

Answer — "Yes." 

Question — "If  any  one  should  offer  you  twenty-two  thousand 
dollars  cash  for  the  property,  would  you  accept?" 

Answer — "I  sure  would,  but  there  is  no  one  fool  enough  to 
pay  such  an  amount." 

Question — "Suppose  I  were  to  submit  to  you  now  a  deed  of 
the  property  for  your  signature,  and  tendered  you  a  certified 
check  for  twenty-two  thousand  dollars,  would  you  sign  the 
deed?" 

Answer — "Yes." 

I  thereupon  tendered  the  certified  check  and  a  deed 
for  his  signature,  and  said,  "Sign  the  deed  and  the 
check  is  yours."  "I  won't  sell,"  said  the  plaintiff, 
and  that  of  course  ended  the  case. 

Shortly  before  the  close  of  the  World's  Fair  in  1893, 
I  received  a  postal  card  on  which  was  written  in  red 


76  REMINISCENCES 

ink,  "  I  want  your  job  as  Corporation  Counsel.  If  you 
know  what  is  good  for  yourself,  resign."  Signed 
"Prendergast."  A  few  days  afterwards  I  received 
another  card  from  the  same  party  on  which  was  written, 
"You  ignored  my  first  notice.  Do  not  be  a  fool. 
Resign."  A  few  days  later  I  received  a  third  notice, 
on  which  appeared  a  skull  and  cross  bones  and  the 
following  writing:  " Third  and  final  notice.  You 
either  resign  or  I  will  remove  you."  What  I  at  first 
thought  was  a  practical  joke  began  to  look  serious.  On 
October  28,  1893,  while  alone  in  my  office  a  man  I  had 
never  seen  before  walked  in  and  asked,  " Are  you  the 
Corporation  Counsel?"  I  looked  up  and  saw  the  man 
standing  near  the  door  with  his  right  hand  in  his  coat 
pocket,  apparently  clutching  something  which  I  judged 
to  be  a  pistol.  I  asked  quietly,  "What  do  you  wish?" 
He  answered,  "My  name  is  Prendergast."  I  tried  to 
smile — with  what  success  I  do  not  know — and  said, 
"I  am  delighted,  Mr.  Prendergast,  that  you  are  here. 
After  receiving  your  postal  cards  I  would  have  invited 
you  to  come  and  see  me  if  you  had  given  me  your 
address.  Your  personal  call  now  saves  me  the  trouble 
of  writing  to  you.  I  understand  you  want  me  to  resign 
and  to  take  my  job.  I  will  surrender  it  to  you  with 
pleasure.  Come  and  take  my  chair  now."  With 
that  I  got  up,  intending  to  leave  the  room  and  call  for 
assistance.  Prendergast  stopped  me  and  said,  "Hold 
on.  I  don't  want  the  job  today.  I  must  first  transfer 
my  business  to  somebody  else.  You  seem  to  be  a 
much  better  fellow  than  I  thought  you  were.  You 
stay  here  until  I  come  to  take  charge."  Turning  around 
abruptly  he  left  the  room.  I  followed  and  pointed 
him  out  to  the  police  officer  who  was  stationed  in  the 


THE  CITIZEN  77 

anteroom,  saying,  "Do  not  lose  sight  of  that  man. 
Catch  him  and  lock  him  up.  He  is  dangerous."  The 
officer  ran  after  him  but  there  was  such  a  crowd  in  the 
hall  of  the  building  that  he  lost  sight  of  him.  That 
night  Prendergast  went  to  Mayor  Harrison's  home  and 
shot  him  dead.  From  Mr.  Harrison's  residence  he 
walked  to  the  police  station,  surrendered  himself  and 
said  that  he  had  killed  the  Mayor.  He  was  indicted 
and  tried  for  the  murder.  His  only  defense  at  the 
trial  was  insanity.  The  State  proved  that  Prender- 
gast had  for  years  held  a  contract  with  the  Chicago 
Inter  Ocean,  a  newspaper  then  published  in  Chicago, 
under  which  he  attended  to  the  distribution  of  the  paper 
in  the  entire  north  division  of  the  city;  that  he  had  a 
number  of  men  working  for  him;  that  he  attended  to 
his  business  properly;  that  he  kept  proper  books;  that 
he  knew  the  difference  between  right  and  wrong.  He 
was  not  a  lawyer  and  the  only  thing  about  him  that  sug- 
gested mental  unsoundness  was  his  desire  to  be  Corpo- 
ration Counsel.  The  jury,  holding  him  responsible  for 
his  act,  found  him  guilty  of  murder  and  he  was  hanged. 
In  1892,  my  brother-in-law,  M.  ML  Hirsh,  with  his 
family,  and  myself  and  wife,  visited  Europe,  sailing  on 
the  Hamburg  steamer  "Normania. "  We  had  a  pleas- 
ant trip  over  and  agreed  among  ourselves  to  secure 
return  passage  during  the  last  week  in  August.  On 
calling  at  the  office  of  the  steamship  company  we 
found  that  the  "Normania"  would  sail  for  New  York 
at  the  time  we  wanted  to  return.  My  brother-in-law 
remarked  that  we  were  lucky  since  we  could  secure 
the  same  cabins  we  had  used  coming  over.  For  some 
unaccountable  reason  I  felt  that  I  did  not  want  to 
return  on  that  vessel,  and  so  stated.     Upon  being  asked 


78  REMINISCENCES 

the  reason  for  my  objection,  I  replied  that  I  could  give 
no  reason,  other  than  the  mere  notion;  that  some 
people  might  call  it  a  presentiment,  but  I  preferred  to 
put  my  objection  on  the  ground  that  I  was  there  for 
pleasure  and  did  not  wish,  during  my  stay,  to  feel  that 
I  had  done  something  which  I  had  not  wanted  to  do 
and  which  I  could  have  avoided  doing.  My  brother- 
in-law  humored  me  by  consenting  to  take  return  passage 
with  me  on  another  steamer  which  sailed  a  week  later. 

My  wife  and  I  went  to  Franzensbad,  Bohemia, 
where  we  remained  six  weeks.  Franzensbad  is  princi- 
pally patronized  by  women.  I  went  once  or  twice  a 
week  to  Karlsbad  where  I  was  sure  to  meet  acquain- 
tances from  home.  After  one  of  those  visits,  on  re- 
turning to  Franzensbad,  while  sitting  in  a  compartment 
of  a  car  waiting  for  the  train  to  start  I  overheard  two 
men  speaking  Bohemian,  which  language  I  could  speak 
without  the  slightest  foreign  accent.  When  the  train 
started,  one  of  the  men  entered  the  compartment  I  was 
in  and  I  entered  into  conversation  with  him  during 
which  I  soon  learned  that  he  was  an  official  of  the  rail- 
road and  that  his  home  was  in  Pilsen.  Having  in- 
troduced myself  as  coming  from  the  United  States  he 
asked  me  as  to  the  conditions  in  my  country,  and 
having  answered,  I  in  turn  asked  him  as  to  conditions 
in  Bohemia.  He  said  that  conditions  could  not  be 
worse;  that  the  Jews  had  destroyed  everything. 

"Why, "  he  said,  "when  you  come  to  Pilsen  just 
look  at  the  names  on  the  signs  on  the  stores.  Nearly 
every  store  belongs  to  a  Jew.  When  I  was  young  I 
could  grab  hold  of  one  of  those  dirty  Jews,  pull  his 
beard  and  spit  in  his  face,  and  it  would  have  been  all 
right.     If  I  were  to  do  so  now,  I'd  be  arrested  and  fined, 


THE  CITIZEN  79 

perhaps  even  jailed.  That  shows  you  what  this  coun- 
try is  coming  to.  I  have  been  an  official  of  this  rail- 
road for  over  twenty-five  years,  and  yet  I  have  not 
money  enough  saved  to  buy  a  decent  suit  of  clothes, 
while  the  Jews  are  getting  rich." 

I  asked  if  he  would  permit  me  to  ask  him  a  few  per- 
sonal questions.  He  told  me  to  go  ahead.  "Do  you 
belong  to  a  club?"  I  asked.  "Yes, "  he  answered. 
11  Pay  dues?  "  "  Yes."  "  Do  you  often  visit  the  club?  " 
"Nearly  every  evening."  "About  how  many  glasses 
of  beer  do  you  drink  in  an  evening?"  "Oh,  not  less 
than  eight,  sometimes  more . "  "  Do  you  smoke  cigars ? ' ' 
"Yes."  "About  how  many  cigars  a  day?"  "From 
five  to  ten."  "  If  you  had  done,"  I  said,  "as  the  aver- 
age Jew  does  when  he  starts  out  in  life;  if  instead  of 
going  every  evening  to  the  club  you  had  stayed  at 
home;  if  instead  of  drinking  so  many  glasses  of  beer 
you  had  sent  out  for  a  quart  and  drunk  it  at  home,  it 
would  have  cost  you  less  than  one  glass  cost  you  at  the 
club;  if  instead  of  smoking  so  many  cigars  you  had 
smoked  a  pipe,  you  might,  on  those  items  alone  in  the 
twenty-five  years,  have  saved  up  enough  to  own  a 
comfortable  home." 

"You  do  not  understand  the  situation  here,"  he 
replied,  "I  must  live  according  to  my  station." 

The  whistle  blew,  the  train  was  slackening  up,  we 
were  nearing  Franzensbad. 

"Just  one  more  question  before  I  go,"  I  said.  "If 
someone  were  to  tell  the  President  or  other  high  official 
of  this  railroad  what  you  said  to  me  regarding  Jews, 
what  would  be  the  effect  on  you?"  "Why,"  he  said, 
"I  would  be  fired;  but  there  is  no  danger,  I  was  not 
overheard  by  a  Jew." 


80  REMINISCENCES 

The  train  stopped.  "You  are  absolutely  safe,"  I 
replied.  "The  high  officials  will  not  find  out  what 
you  said,  and  the  reason  they  will  not  find  it  out  is 
that  I  am  a  Jew."  He  looked  at  me  in  amazement, 
either  too  dumfounded  to  say  anything,  or  not  knowing 
what  to  say.  I  assume  the  principal  reason  why  he 
did  not  suspect  me  was  that  nearly  all  Jews  in  Bohemia, 
in  those  days,  spoke  with  a  German  accent,  and  I 
did  not. 

When  the  time  arrived  for  our  return  home,  we  met 
my  brother-in-law's  family  in  London,  and  boarded 
the  Hamburg  steamer  at  Liverpool.  In  Liverpool  we 
were  told  that  cholera  had  broken  out  in  Hamburg, 
and  that  accordingly  no  steamer  was  allowed  to  sail 
from  that  port ;  that  the  last  steamer  to  sail  from  Ham- 
burg was  the  "Normania"  which  had  sailed  a  week 
before.  When  we  arrived  in  New  York  harbor,  we 
learned  that  the  "Normania, "  which  became  known  as 
the  cholera  ship,  was  quarantined  with  all  its  passengers, 
and  remained  quarantined  for  more  than  thirty  days. 

My  brother-in-law  said  that  when  I  had  objected  to 
returning  on  the  "Normania,"  he  had  regarded  the  whole 
thing  as  a  senseless  yielding  to  a  foolish  notion,  but 
that  on  this  occasion  at  least  he  was  grateful  to  me 
for  a  foolish  notion. 

During  the  Chicago  World's  Fair  in  1893,  I  was  able 
to  render  some  slight  service  to  the  Austrian  Govern- 
ment in  connection  with  the  Fair.  During  the  World's 
Fair  in  St.  Louis,  in  1903,  I  was  asked  by  the  Austrian 
authorities  to  represent  that  Government  as  a  juror 
on  fine  art  exhibits  at  that  fair,  in  which  capacity  I 
served.  About  a  year  afterwards,  I  was  notified  by 
the  Austrian   consul   that  the  Austrian   Government 


THE  CITIZEN  81 

had  knighted  me  by  conferring  upon  me  the  decora- 
tion of  Knight  of  the  Order  of  Francis  Joseph.  The 
decoration  was  later  handed  me  and  while  as  an  Ameri- 
can citizen,  I  attached  little  importance  to  that  honor, 
I  am  free  to  admit  that  I  value  it  for  this  reason  alone : 
If  my  mother  had  lived  to  know  that  her  son,  living  in 
a  foreign  country,  was  so  honored  by  her  Emperor, 
it  would  have  been  to  her  the  greatest  joy. 

A  horse  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  selection  of 
one  of  my  law  partners.  I  first  met  Levy  Mayer  as  a 
lawyer  in  the  case  previously  referred  to  in  these  pages, 
in  which  his  brother  David  had  been  sued  for  damages 
for  injuring  a  horse.  A  judgment  for  two-hundred 
dollars  had  been  rendered  against  David  Mayer,  who 
had  appealed  to  the  higher  court  where  the  case  was 
still  pending.  Finding  that  my  practice  was  too  large 
for  me  to  attend  to  alone,  and  being  favorably  im- 
pressed with  him  as  a  result  of  the  horse  case,  I  offered 
young  Mayer  a  partnership.  "How  much  income  will 
you  guarantee  me  a  year?"  asked  Levy,  who  was  then 
clerking  in  the  Law  Institute  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred 
dollars  a  month.  "Nothing,"  I  answered.  "Accept 
or  refuse,  but  do  it  today."  Two  hours  later  Mayer 
called  on  me,  accepted  the  offer  and  said  that  attorney 
Julius  Rosenthal,  who  was  then  librarian  at  the  Insti- 
tute, had  advised  him  to  accept.  Before  we  could 
sign  a  contract  the  horse  case  had  to  be  disposed  of, 
since  it  would  not  do  for  partners  to  be  on  opposite 
sides  of  a  case.  Levy  had  saved  up  two  hundred 
dollars,  which  was  all  the  money  he  had.  He  suggested 
that  each  of  us  should  contribute  one  hundred  dollars 
and  satisfy  the  judgment.  This  was  done  and  the 
suit  was  dismissed. 


82  REMINISCENCES 

The  partnership  continued  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  Mayer  could  do  more  work  in  one  day  than 
the  average  lawyer  could  do  in  two,  and  he  always  did 
it  well.  The  only  thing  he  lacked  at  the  start  was 
self-confidence.  The  idea  of  going  into  court  in  a 
contested  case  made  him  extremely  nervous  and  for 
nearly  a  year  he  attended  to  office  business  only. 
Business  increased  so  rapidly  that  I  could  not  handle 
the  court  work  alone;  so  one  day  I  told  Mayer  that  he 
would  have  to  overcome  his  nervousness  and  do  some 
of  the  court  work,  and  that  the  only  way  to  accomplish 
this  was  to  jump  right  into  the  work.  "You  might 
as  well  commence  today/'  I  said.  "Go  into  court  and 
try  the  case  which  is  on  the  call.  I  do  not  think  you 
will  need  my  help,  but  if  you  should  I  will  be  there 
ready  to  assist."  When  the  case  was  called  Levy  was 
in  such  a  nervous  condition  that  I  was  afraid  he  would 
not  be  able  to  go  on.  However,  an  adverse  ruling  of 
the  court  drove  all  the  nervousness  out  of  him.  He 
argued  against  the  ruling  so  forcibly  that  the  court 
finally  decided  in  his  favor.  From  that  day  on  there 
was  not  a  lawyer  in  Chicago  who  had  more  self-confi- 
dence, or  who  was  more  at  home  in  a  court  room  than 
Levy  Mayer. 

One  day  shortly  after  the  partnership  was  formed, 
Julius  Rosenthal  said  to  me,  "I  think  you  and  Levy 
are  both  to  be  congratulated,  but  I  want  to  caution 
you  about  one  thing, — do  not  allow  yourself  to  be 
convinced  by  Levy  on  any  question  of  law  unless 
you  are  sure  that  he  has  started  out  on  the  right 
premise,  for  if  that  young  fellow  starts  out  wrong, 
he  will  end  up  by  convincing  himself  and  you  that  he 
is  right." 


THE  CITIZEN  83 

It  was  not  long  until  Mayer  was  recognized  as  a  very 
able  lawyer,  and  finally  as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers 
of  the  country.  The  partnership  business  grew  from 
year  to  year,  and  each  year  showed  a  gain  over  the 
preceding  year,  a  record  which  very  few  law  firms  can 
show.  From  1881  until  1887,  the  firm  was  Kraus  & 
Mayer.  During  that  time  I  tried  nearly  all  the  jury 
cases  of  the  firm,  while  Mayer  handled  the  chancery 
cases.  In  1887  we  decided  to  enlarge  the  firm  so  as  to 
be  better  able  to  take  care  of  the  business,  and  Mr. 
Philip  Stein,  who  afterwards  became  a  Judge  of  the 
Appellate  Court,  was  taken  into  the  partnership,  which 
then  became  Kraus,  Mayer  &  Stein.  In  1892  Thomas 
Moran,  also  a  Judge  of  the  Appellate  Court,  resigned 
and  joined  the  firm,  and  the  partnership  name  was 
changed  to  Moran,  Kraus,  Mayer  &  Stein.  The 
firm's  business  grew  from  year  to  year,  numbering 
among  its  clients  banks,  large  corporations,  and  busi- 
ness houses.  At  the  time  I  retired  from  the  firm  it 
had  more  than  fifty  large  volumes  of  briefs  of  cases 
argued  in  the  courts  of  appeal. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  mention  here  a  few  cases, 
not  because  of  their  importance,  but  because  of  some 
peculiar  or  interesting  things  which  arose  in  connection 
with  them. 

One  Dreyer,  who  was  engaged  in  the  real  estate, 
mortgage,  and  banking  business,  and  was  treasurer  of 
the  West  Park  Board,  failed  in  business,  heavily  in- 
debted, involving  also  the  loss  of  about  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  belonging  to  the  West  Park  Board. 
A  new  treasurer  was  elected;  he  sent  a  written  de- 
mand to  Dreyer  to  turn  over  to  him  as  successor  the 
money  which  should  have  been  in  his,  Dreyer's,  hands 


84  REMINISCENCES 

as  treasurer.  Upon  Dreyer's  failure  to  comply  with 
this  demand  he  was  indicted. 

The  case  came  up  for  hearing  in  the  Criminal  Court 

before  Judge  Abner  Smith.    Mr. ,  Assistant  Stated 

Attorney  (afterward  Judge)  represented  the  state.  Judge 
Moran  defended  Dreyer.  The  only  defense  we  had  was 
that  a  written  demand  was  insufficient ;  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  successor  to  make  an  oral  demand  so  that 
Dreyer,  if  he  had  the  money,  could  turn  it  over  to  him; 
that  he  was  not  required  to  take  the  risk  of  carrying  it 
to  his  successor.  When  the  state  rested  its  case  the 
defendant's  counsel  moved  that  the  court  instruct  the 
jury  to  find  the  defendant  not  guilty  because  a  written 
demand  was  not  sufficient.  This  motion  was  supported 
by  an  unbroken  chain  of  authorities,  which  were  cited 
and  read  to  the  court.  The  State's  Attorney  contended 
that  a  written  demand  was  sufficient.  The  judge  took 
the  motion  under  advisement,  saying  he  would  decide 
it  the  next  morning.  The  next  morning,  upon  the 
opening  of  court,  he  overruled  our  motion,  the  jury 
was  called  in,  the  judge  asked  counsel  to  present  their 
defense,  to  which  we  replied  that  our  defense  was  in. 
It  was,  and  still  is,  the  law  in  Illinois  in  a  criminal  case 
that  the  jurors  are  the  judges  not  only  of  the  facts  but 
also  of  the  law.  They  have  the  right  to  disregard  the 
instructions  of  the  court  if  they  believe  they  under- 
stand the  law  better  than  the  court.  Several  times 
during  the  trial  of  the  case  Judge  Moran  became 
incensed  at  the  conduct  of  the  State's  Attorney  and 
made  statements  which  reflected  on  him. 

In  addressing  the  jury  for  the  defendant  I  opened 
the  argument  and  Judge  Moran  closed.  I  said  to  the 
jury  that  the  court  would  instruct  them  that  a  written 


THE  CITIZEN  85 

demand  was  sufficient,  which  no  doubt  would  be  his 
honest  opinion,  but  that  he  was  mistaken  in  his  view 
of  the  law,  as  would  be  conclusively  proved  to  the  jury; 
that  the  State's  Attorney  would  claim  that  a  written 
demand  sent  by  registered  mail  was  not  only  sufficient 
but  even  better  than  an  oral  demand,  but  that  he  knew 
better;  that  whatever  he  might  say  to  the  jury  should 
have  very  little  weight  with  them  unless  he  could 
support  it  by  authorities,  which  he  would  not  be  able 
to  do.  I  then  read  Supreme  Court  decisions  from  a 
dozen  different  states,  all  holding  that  a  written  de- 
mand was  not  sufficient.  After  all  arguments  were 
made  the  judge  instructed  the  jury  that  a  written  de- 
mand was  sufficient.  In  spite  of  that  instruction  it 
took  the  jury  six  hours  to  agree  to  find  Dreyer  guilty, 
but  after  the  jury  retired  and  before  the  verdict  came 
in  Judge  Smith,  who  evidently  did  not  feel  flattered  at 
what  was  said,  asked  Moran  and  me  to  stand  up.  He 
then  proceeded  to  say  that  statements  made  by  each 
of  us  during  the  trial  concerning  the  State's  Attorney 
might  have  provoked  a  disturbance  of  the  peace  in 
court,  and  that  accordingly  he  was  obliged  to  find  us 
both  guilty  of  contempt  of  court  and  impose  a  fine 
upon  each  of  us  of  one  hundred  dollars.  Moran  felt 
very  much  hurt  at  this  and  addressed  the  court.  While 
he  was  speaking  the  prosecuting  attorney  said  to  me, 
"What  is  that  fool  fining  you  for?  I  felt  hurt  at  what 
Moran  said,  but  I  did  not  feel  hurt  at  what  you  said." 
"Why  don't  you  get  up  and  say  so  to  the  judge?" 
I  asked.  "If  I  do  he  is  liable  to  fine  me,"  he  said. 
State's  Attorney  Deneen  (now  U.  S.  Senator)  happened 
to  be  in  the  court  room  at  that  time  and  said  to  me, 
' '  Take  your  time  to  consider  whether  you  want  to  appeal. 


86  REMINISCENCES 

I  will  instruct  the  sheriff  to  wait."  When  court  adjourned 
a  Tribune  reporter  asked  Judge  Moran  if  he  wished  to 
say  anything  about  being  fined.  "Yes,"  said  Moran, 
"I  want  to  say  this:  We  were  engaged  in  the  trial  of 
that  case  for  several  days,  during  which  time  Judge 
Smith  ruled  on  more  than  three  hundred  points  of  law 
which  we  raised  and  during  the  entire  trial  the  only  cor- 
rect ruling  he  made  was  when  he  fined  me  for  contempt." 

On  appeal  at  the  Dreyer  case  the  supreme  court 
held  that  a  written  demand  was  not  sufficient,  and  the 
judgment  of  Abner  Smith  was  reversed. 

When  Smith's  term  of  office  expired  he  went  into 
the  banking  business,  in  which  he  failed  and  was  in- 
dicted for  accepting  deposits  when  insolvent.  He  was 
convicted  and  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary.  That 
judgment  was  not  reversed  and  he  served  out  his  term. 

The  Chicago  World's  Fair  Commissioners  issued  an 
order  closing  the  Fair  on  Sundays.  William  E.  Mason, 
afterwards  United  States  Senator,  on  behalf  of  certain 
exhibitors  filed  a  bill  in  the  Superior  Court  to  enjoin 
the  World's  Fair  Commissioners  from  closing  the  Fair 
on  Sundays.  Judge  Philip  Stein,  then  a  chancellor  in 
the  Superior  Court,  entered  an  order  enjoining  the 
Commissioners  from  closing  the  Fair  on  Sundays,  and 
a  few  days  later  left  for  Europe  on  a  vacation.  During 
Judge  Stein's  absence  Judge  Goggin  presided  in  that 
branch  of  the  court.  My  law  firm  was  employed  by 
the  Commissioners  and  Moran  and  Mayer  appeared 
before  Goggin  and  presented  a  motion  that  the  in- 
junction be  dissolved.  Goggin  invited  Judges  Brentano 
and  Dunne  to  sit  with  him,  and  after  the  arguments 
were  concluded  the  judges  took  the  motion  under  ad- 
visement.    Judges  Brentano  and  Dunne  voted  to  grant 


THE  CITIZEN  87 

the  motion  to  dissolve  the  injunction.  Judge  Goggin 
voted  to  let  the  injunction  stand,  and  tried  to  convince 
the  other  judges  that  he  was  right,  but  did  not  succeed. 
He  afterwards  told  me  that  when  he  found  he  could 
not  change  the  views  of  the  other  two  judges  it  worried 
him  so  that  he  walked  the  streets  for  hours  during  the 
night  time  before  he  came  to  a  conclusion  as  to  what  he 
should  do.  The  next  morning  the  three  judges  ap- 
peared in  court  prepared  to  announce  the  judgment. 
Goggin,  who  was  the  presiding  judge,  after  court  was 
opened  turned  to  the  other  two  judges  and  said: 
"  Judges  Brentano  and  Dunne — I  feel  greatly  obligated 
to  both  of  you  for  the  assistance  you  have  given  me  in 
this  case.  You  have  done  your  duty  so  well  that  I 
will  now  excuse  you  from  any  further  responsibility  in 
the  case."  There  was  of  course  nothing  for  the  other 
two  judges  to  do  but  to  retire. 

After  they  retired  Judge  Goggin  said,  "I  have 
listened  to  the  very  able  arguments  of  counsel  on  both 
sides.  The  question  involved  is  a  very  important  one. 
We  have  not  been  able  to  come  to  a  unanimous  con- 
clusion. I  will  therefore  take  the  case  under  further 
advisement  and  decide  it  after  the  first  snow  fall." 
(That  meant,  of  course,  after  the  Fair  was  over  and  that 
the  injunction  would  remain  in  force.)  That  state- 
ment of  Goggin  so  shocked  Moran  that  he  said,  "Judge, 
you  are  drunk,"  to  which  Goggin  made  no  reply. 

About  two  months  afterwards  I  met  Goggin  on 
Dearborn  Street.  Stopping  me,  he  said:  "I  have 
been  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  talk  to  you.  I  am 
a  bachelor  and  I  am  going  to  die  one.  I  will  tell  you 
why.  Years  ago  I  was  in  love  with  the  best  and  most 
beautiful  girl  on  earth.     Our  wedding  date  was  set, 


88  REMINISCENCES 

but  just  before  the  wedding  was  to  take  place  she  took 
sick  and  died.  While  standing  at  her  coffin  and  gazing 
at  her  beautiful  face,  beautiful  even  in  death,  I  silently 
vowed  that  I  would  always  be  faithful  to  her  and  that 
I  would  never  marry.  I  have  kept  that  vow.  That 
girl  was  Tom  Moran's  sister,  and  because  I  loved  her 
so  I  always  looked  up  to  him  who  was  her  brother. 
Figuratively,  I  sat  at  his  feet.  Anything  that  he  said 
to  me  in  private  life  was  law  to  me.  Regarding  the 
motion  to  dissolve  the  World's  Fair  injunction,  I  felt 
that  Sunday  was  the  only  day  when  the  working  people 
could  attend  the  Fair.  I  felt  that  they  should  not  be 
deprived  of  the  educational  privilege  which  the  Fair 
was  giving  to  them,  and  which  probably  never  would 
come  to  them  again.  That  was  the  basis  of  my  ruling. 
Imagine  my  feelings  when  the  man  whom  I  esteemed 
more  than  any  other  living  man  said  to  me  in  open 
court,  'Judge,  you  are  drunk.'  I  promptly  said,  'Mr. 
Bailiff, ' — I  was  going  to  order  him  to  arrest  Moran  for 
contempt  of  court  and  put  him  in  jail,  but  I  could  not 
utter  another  word,  for  just  then  I  saw  Moran's  sister 
standing  between  him  and  me,  just  as  naturally,  just 
as  clearly  as  I  saw  her  in  her  lifetime.  I  saw  her  lips 
move  and  heard  her  say  'Don't,'  and  that  is  all  I 
remembered.  When  I  recovered  I  was  sitting  in  my 
chair,  the  court  room  was  empty  except  for  the  clerk 
and  bailiff.  It  was  then  too  late  for  me  to  do  anything. 
I  was  not  drunk.  I  had  not  touched  a  drop  of  liquor 
for  weeks.  I  am  through  forever  with  Moran.  I  do 
not  want  him  to  come  into  my  court.  I  will  not  try 
any  case  in  which  he  appears.  If  your  firm  has  a  case 
in  my  court,  some  other  member  of  your  firm  must 
attend  to  it.     I  am  telling  you  all  this  because  I  want 


THE  CITIZEN  89 

you  to  deliver  a  message  for  me  to  Moran.  Will  you 
do  it?"  I  said  I  would.  "Tell  him  that  I  will  not 
die  happy  unless  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  spitting  on 
his  grave."  "  Please  don't  ask  me  to  deliver  that 
message,"  I  pleaded.  "I  have  your  promise,  and  that 
ought  to  be  enough,"  he  said.  "Very  well,"  I  said, 
"I  will  deliver  it,"  and  I  did.  All  Moran  said  was: 
"Poor  Goggin,  poor  Goggin." 

Judge  Goggin  was  an  able  lawyer,  but  erratic  at 
times  and  given  to  queer  statements  in  rendering  his 
decisions. 

A  man  named  Kahn  failed,  owing  Felsenthal  and 
Kozminsky,  bankers,  ten  thousand  dollars.  Ely  Fel- 
senthal, a  lawyer  and  son  of  the  head  of  that  banking 
firm,  sued  out  a  capias  upon  which  Kahn  was  arrested. 
I  defended  Kahn  and  presented  a  motion  to  Judge 
Goggin  to  quash  the  capias  on  the  ground  that  the 
affidavit  for  the  capias  was  insufficient.  The  argu- 
ments lasted  the  best  part  of  a  day.  When  they  were 
finished  the  Judge  began  his  review  of  the  law  appli- 
cable to  the  case  by  stating  that  under  the  old  Irish 
law  imprisonment  for  debt  was  not  favored,  but  under 
the  English  law  it  was;  that  in  his  opinion  the  law  in 
this  country  was  not  patterned  after  the  English  law 
but  rather  after  the  old  Irish  law  and  an  affidavit  upon 
which  a  citizen  is  deprived  of  his  liberty  must  be  fault- 
less. He  ruled  that  the  affidavit  in  the  case  in  hand  was 
bad.  Thereupon  Ely  Felsenthal  said,  "Your  honor,  if 
this  writ  is  quashed  my  father's  firm  will  never  be  able 
to  collect  the  ten  thousand  dollars  due  them,  or  any 
part  of  it.  They  cannot  afford  to  lose  that  amount  of 
money.  Will  you  give  me  an  opportunity  to  be  heard 
further  on  this  motion? "     "Certainly,  Mr.  Felsenthal," 


90  REMINISCENCES 

said  the  Judge,  "Come  into  my  chamber  tomorrow 
afternoon  at  two  o'clock."  At  two  o'clock  counsel 
met  in  the  Judge's  chambers  and  Felsenthal  spoke  for 
about  two  hours  more.  The  Judge  did  not  interrupt 
him,  but  when  Felsenthal  stopped,  said:  "Mr.  Felsen- 
thal, are  you  through?  I  am  asking  this  because  it 
shall  never  be  said  of  me  that  I  did  not  give  a  lawyer 
a  chance  to  talk.  If  you  are  not  through  I  will  grant 
you  additional  time,  but  when  you  are  finally  through  I 
am  going  to  decide  the  case  for  Mr.  Kraus."  Felsen- 
thal said,  "I  am  through  now." 

One  day  during  summer  vacation  I  gave  notice  to 
the  plaintiff's  attorney  in  an  attachment  suit  that  I 
would  ask  Judge  Goggin  to  quash  the  attachment. 
The  morning  the  motion  was  to  be  heard  the  Judge 
came  in  late.  As  soon  as  court  was  opened  the  Judge 
said  to  the  plaintiff's  attorney,  who  was  standing  at 
the  clerk's  desk, — "What  have  you  here  this  morning?" 
He  answered,  "  I  am  here  to  contest  a  motion  to  quash 
an  attachment  writ." 

Judge — "Who  is  on  the  other  side?" 

The  plaintiff's  lawyer — "Mr.  Kraus." 

Judge — "This  is  vacation  period.  Mr.  Kraus  is  a  rich  man 
he  probably  won't  show  up  here  before  eleven  o'clock." 

The  lawyer  (pointing  towards  me) — "Mr.  Kraus  is  here 
now." 

Judge — "Oh!  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Kraus.  Are  you 
ready  to  proceed?" 

Kraus — "Yes,  if  the  court  is  ready  to  hear  me." 

The  court — ' '  Proceed . ' ' 

The  arguments  on  both  sides  were  finished  in  thirty  minutes. 
The  court,  instead  of  deciding  at  once,  said:  "Mr.  Clerk,  what 
is  the  number  of  this  motion?" 

Clerk — "It  is  the  eleventh  on  the  day's  calendar." 

Judge — "Gentlemen,  I  am  surprised  that  you  let  me  go  on 
and  listen  to  you  when  you  knew  that  there  were  ten  motions 
ahead  of  yours.     You  must  wait  until  your  motion  is  reached." 


THE  CITIZEN  91 

When  the  motion  was  reached  about  two  hours  later,  I  said, 
"Your  Honor,  this  is  the  motion  we  argued.  We  are  awaiting 
your  decision."  The  Judge  promptly  decided  in  favor  of  the 
defendant.  Thereupon  the  plaintiff's  attorney  said:  "Your 
Honor,  this  is  the  vacation  period.  You  are  assigned  here  for 
emergency  work  only.  This  motion  is  not  an  emergency  matter. 
The  case  is  on  Judge  Sears'  calendar.  This  motion  should  have 
been  made  before  Judge  Sears." 

Goggin — "I  think  your  point  is  well  taken.  Let  Judge  Sears 
decide  it." 

Kraus — "Judge,  will  you  permit  me  to  ask  you  a  question?" 

Judge — "Certainly,  as  many  as  you  wish." 

Kraus — "You  have  listened  to  our  arguments  carefully.  You 
have  complete  jurisdiction  of  the  matter  and  yet  you  propose 
to  send  us  to  appear  before  Judge  Sears  next  fall  to  re-argue  the 
motion  before  him.  Do  you  think  that  after  he  has  heard  us 
he  will  understand  the  law  any  better  than  you  understand  it?" 

"No,"  said  the  Judge. 

Kraus — "That  being  the  case,  why  should  the  Judge's  and 
our  time  be  wasted?     Would  it  not  be  better  to  decide  it  now?" 

Judge — "  That  point  cannot  be  successfully  met.  The  motion 
to  quash  the  attachment  is  granted." 

As  a  rule  Goggin  decided  cases  correctly,  but  in 
connection  with  his  decisions  he  always  said  something 
that  only  Goggin  could  say. 

Lindauer  Brothers,  failing  in  business,  confessed 
judgments  in  favor  of  numerous  preferred  creditors. 
There  was  no  Federal  bankruptcy  law  in  force  at  that 
time  and  the  County  Court  had  jurisdiction  of  assign- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  creditors.  Richard  Prendegast 
was  County  Judge. 

Levy  Mayer  filed  a  petition  in  the  County  Court 
asking  that  the  case  of  Lindauer  Brothers  be  declared 
a  constructive  assignment  and  that  the  court  take 
jurisdiction  of  the  case  and  hold  all  the  assests  for  the 
benefit  of  all  creditors.  Adolph  Moses,  who  was  a 
lawyer  of  considerable  ability,  had  told  me  some  years 
before  the  Lindauer  failure  of  a  case  where  a  client  of 


92  REMINISCENCES 

his  was  sued  in  a  country  town  before  a  German 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  who  had  set  the  case  for  hearing  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning;  that  two  days  before  the 
date  set  for  trial  he  called  on  the  Justice  and  asked  him 
to  keep  the  case  open  until  seven  A.  M.,  so  that  his 
client  should  have  a  chance  to  defend,  but  that  the 
Justice  had  refused;  that  thereupon  he  told  him  that 
he  would  apply  to  the  Circuit  Court  for  a  writ  of  pro- 
hibition, to  prevent  him  from  proceeding  further  with 
the  case.  The  Justice  said,  '•  I  am  not  a  prohibitionist. 
I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  you.  I  will  dismiss  the 
case  now."  And  he  did. 

Moses  also  told  me  that  he  believed  a  writ  of  prohi- 
bition had  never  been  issued  in  Cook  County,  that  he 
had  been  waiting  for  a  chance  to  apply  for  such  a  writ 
because  he  was  sure  it  would  be  of  interest  to  the 
members  of  the  bar  and  that  he  was  sorry  the  Justice 
had  dismissed  the  case.  Moses  represented  the  judg- 
ment creditors  in  the  Lindauer  case,  and  one  evening 
after  the  case  had  been  on  hearing  for  three  days, 
attracting  much  public  attention,  I  left  my  office  to 
go  home.  In  front  of  the  office  building  I  met  Sigmund 
Zeisler,  who  stopped  me  and  said:  "That  Lindauer 
case  is  attracting  much  attention,  but  it  will  probably 
attract  more  tomorrow."  "Why  tomorrow?"  I  asked. 
"I  have  just  left  Moses'  office,"  said  Zeisler,  "and  he 
told  me  that  he  would  take  a  step  tomorrow  which 
would  end  the  hearing  before  Prendegast."  "What 
does  he  propose  to  do?"  I  asked.  "I  am  not  at 
liberty  to  tell,"  said  he,  "but  it  will  be  interesting  to 
all  lawyers."  At  that  moment  I  recollected  the  story 
Moses  told  about  the  German  Justice  of  the  Peace,  so 
I  said  to  Zeisler,  "Oh,  I  know  all  about  that.     He  is 


THE  CITIZEN  93 

going  to  apply  for  a  writ  of  prohibition."  "How  did 
you  find  it  out?"  said  Zeisler.  I  laughed,  but  returned 
to  my  office. 

The  members  of  the  firm  and  the  clerks  were  still 
in  the  office.  I  told  them  that  Moses  was  going  to 
apply  in  the  morning  for  a  writ  of  prohibition,  and  that 
we  should  have  to  prepare  for  it.  We  all  remained 
downtown  to  supper  and  at  half  past  seven  went  to  the 
Law  Institute,  taking  the  entire  office  force  with  us. 
We  worked  there  until  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
by  that  time  had  every  case  in  which  the  writ  of  pro- 
hibition was  involved.  The  next  morning  when  we 
appeared  in  the  County  Court,  Mr.  Moses  said  to  the 
Court,  "Your  Honor,  Judge  Tuley  of  the  Circuit  Court 
has  issued  a  rule  on  you  to  show  cause  by  ten  o'clock 
this  morning  why  a  writ  of  prohibition  should  not  be 
issued  against  you,  prohibiting  you  from  proceeding 
further  with  this  case." 

Judge  Prendegast  thereupon  appointed  the  law 
firm  of  Kraus,  Mayer  &  Stein  to  represent  the  County 
Court  before  Judge  Tuley. 

The  lawyers  went  directly  to  Judge  Tuley's  room 
where  they  were  evidently  expected,  and  in  opening  the 
matter  Mr.  Moses  said:  "Your  Honor,  Judge  Prende- 
gast has  appointed  Messrs.  Kraus,  Mayer  &  Stein  to 
represent  him.  Now  as  this  is  a  new  question,  which  I 
believe  has  never  been  raised  in  the  courts  of  this 
county,  and  desiring  to  be  fair  to  counsel  on  the  other 
side,  I  suggest  that  the  Court  grant  such  continuance 
as  they  may  desire  to  prepare  for  the  argument." 

Mr.  Mayer — "Your  Honor,  if  there  is  a  law  clerk 
in  my  office  who  cannot  answer  Mr.  Moses  on  this 
motion,  I  will  discharge  him.     We  are  ready  to  go  on." 


94  REMINISCENCES 

The  clerks  began  bringing  in  law  books  from  the 
Law  Institute  and  the  table  was  soon  covered  with 
them.  Mayer  argued  that  a  writ  of  prohibition  could 
only  issue  from  a  court  of  appellate  jurisdiction  to  an 
inferior  court,  that  an  appeal  in  an  assignment  case 
from  the  County  Court  went  to  the  Supreme  Court 
and  not  to  the  Circuit  Court,  and  that  therefore  the 
Circuit  Court  had  no  jurisdiction  to  issue  such  a  writ 
to  the  County  Court. 

Before  Mayer  had  finished  reading  more  than  a 
fifth  of  the  authorities  gathered,  Judge  Tuley  said: 
"It  is  useless  to  waste  any  more  time.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  I  have  no  jurisdiction."  We  all  returned 
to  Judge  Prendegast,  who  ruled  that  the  acts  of  the 
Lindauer  Brothers  constituted  a  constructive  assign- 
ment. On  appeal,  the  Supreme  Court  ruled  there  was 
no  such  thing  as  a  constructive  assignment  in  Illinois. 

A  man  named  Zeisler  was  engaged  in  selling  Austrian 
Government  bonds.  The  bonds  paid  an  extremely 
low  rate  of  interest,  but  each  year  the  Government 
redeemed  a  certain  number  of  them,  which  were  drawn 
by  lot.  For  the  first  number  drawn  the  Government 
paid  one  hundred  thousand  crowns,  and  for  a  limited 
number  next  following  it  paid  smaller  premiums.  All 
the  rest  drew  only  face  value  with  accrued  interest 
of  2%.  The  entire  plan  considered,  the  total  premiums 
and  the  interest  paid  amounted  to  about  five  per  cent 
interest  on  the  entire  bond  issue.  Zeisler  was  indicted 
by  the  Federal  Grand  Jury  for  sending  lottery  tickets 
through  the  mail.  The  case  was  tried  before  Judge 
Blodget.  I  was  retained  by  the  defendant,  and  de- 
fended him  on  the  ground  that  the  bonds  were  not 
lottery  tickets,  and  cited  two  cases  in  support  of  this 


THE  CITIZEN  95 

contention,  one  decided  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
New  York  and  the  other  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
California.  Judge  Blodget,  however,  held  that  the 
scheme  was  a  lottery.  He  said  that  no  American 
would  invest  in  foreign  bonds  bearing  such  a  low  rate 
of  interest  were  it  not  for  the  lottery  scheme  connected 
therewith;  that  foreign  governments  ought  not  to  be 
permitted  to  send  such  bonds  to  this  country  where- 
with to  fleece  the  American  people.  In  sentencing 
Zeisler  he  said,  "Mr.  Zeisler,  stand  up.  I  find  you 
guilty,  but  considering  the  position  your  lawyer  has 
taken  in  the  case  I  will  give  you  the  minimum  fine. 
Your  fine  will  be  one  hundred  dollars,  which  I  remit." 
Some  months  afterwards  Zeisler  went  to  Europe  on 
a  visit.  Congress  had  recently  put  a  prohibitive  tariff 
on  pearl  buttons,  and  this  compelled  a  number  of  pearl 
button  manufacturers  in  Vienna  to  retire  from  business. 
Zeisler,  seeing  a  chance  to  establish  a  successful  business 
in  America,  purchased  the  necessary  machinery  for 
the  making  of  pearl  buttons,  imported  a  number  of 
expert  workmen  in  that  line  from  Vienna,  and  started 
a  pearl  button  factory  in  Chicago.  Shortly  after 
starting  up  in  this  business  he  was  indicted  for  import- 
ing labor  into  this  country  in  violation  of  the  Federal 
laws.  That  case  also  was  tried  before  Judge  Blodget. 
I  defended  Zeisler  in  this  case  on  the  ground  that  the 
manufacture  of  pearl  buttons  was  a  new  industry  and 
that  the  law  permitted  importation  of  labor  for  new 
industries.  When  the  nature  of  the  defense  was 
stated  the  District  Attorney  said  that  he  was  taken  by 
surprise,  and  asked  the  court  for  a  continuance  to  en- 
able him  to  prove  that  it  was  not  a  new  industry. 
This  was  granted.    The  case  coming  on  again,  the  Dis- 


96  REMINISCENCES 

trict  Attorney  put  a  government  official,  whom  he  had 
called  from  Washington,  on  the  stand.  He  testified  that 
the  records  showed  that  there  had  been  a  pearl  button 
factory  in  New  Jersey  which  had  gone  out  of  business 
about  one  hundred  years  before,  and  that  there  was 
a  man  in  Ohio  who  at  the  time  of  the  trial  was  engaged 
in  manufacturing  pearl  buttons,  employing  six  men  in 
his  shop,  and  that  he  had  been  so  engaged  for  several 
years.  I  contended  that  the  Ohio  man  could  not, 
with  the  few  men  he  had  working  for  him,  manufacture 
enough  buttons  to  supply  the  country  with  five  per 
cent  of  its  needs;  that  therefore  Zeisler's  business  was 
still  a  new  industry.  The  judge,  however,  found 
Zeisler  guilty  and,  repeating  almost  verbatim  what  he 
had  said  to  him  in  the  lottery  case,  imposed  a  fine  of 
one  hundred  dollars,  remitting  the  fine.  Zeisler 
thanked  him  and  was  about  to  leave  when  the  judge 
said,  "  Mr.  Zeisler,  I  believe  you  are  the  same  man  who 
was  before  me  some  time  ago  for  sending  lottery 
tickets  through  the  mail.  Are  you  not?"  "Yes,  your 
Honor,"  replied  Zeisler.  "In  that  case  also,"  said  the 
judge,  "I  gave  you  the  minimum  fine  and  remitted  it. 
It  is  due  you  now  to  give  you  warning.  If  ever  you 
come  before  me  again  for  violating  any  Federal  law,  I 
will  send  you  to  the  penitentiary,  regardless  of  who 
your  lawyer  may  be."  The  next  day  Zeisler  left  for 
New  York,  and  so  far  as  I  know  never  came  back  to 
Chicago. 

Eldridge  Hanecy,  then  Chancellor  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  entered  a  decree  in  a  certain  case  which  dis- 
pleased the  editor  of  the  Chicago  Examiner.  The 
next  day  the  editor  criticised  the  judgment  severely 
and  published  a  cartoon  of  the  Judge  in  which  he  was 


THE  CITIZEN  97 

shown  holding  an  open  hand  behind  his  back.  This 
was  construed  by  Hanecy  as  amounting  to  a  charge 
that  he  was  bribed,  and  he  cited  Andrew  Lawrence, 
the  responsible  editor,  to  show  cause  why  he  should  not 
be  attached  for  contempt.  Ex-Governor  John  P. 
Altgeld  and  I  appeared  for  the  editor.  We  took  the 
position  that  the  Judge  having  rendered  a  final  judg- 
ment, the  case  was  not  pending  before  him-  and  that 
therefore  he  was  without  power  to  hold  the  editor  in 
a  contempt;  that  he  had  the  same  remedy,  only,  that 
any  other  person  would  have,  regardless  of  whether  or 
not  he  was  a  judge,  namely,  a  proceeding  for  libel.  We 
expected,  however,  that  the  Judge  would  find  Lawrence 
guilty  and  sentence  him  to  jail,  and  were  prepared  for 
that  event.  In  this  expectation  we  were  not  dis- 
appointed. 

We  were  told  by  Mr.  Loeb,  the  sheriff's  attorney, 
that  the  Judge  had  instructed  the  sheriff  to  take 
Lawrence  as  soon  as  he  had  sentenced  him  and  put 
him  in  jail  as  quickly  as  possible.  Evidently  the 
Judge  had  anticipated  what  might  be  done  by  us. 
We  told  Lawrence  what  to  expect  and  explained  what 
we  intended  to  do.  The  sheriff  had  a  carriage  waiting 
and  immediately  upon  sentence  being  pronounced  he 
escorted  Lawrence  to  the  carriage  and  invited  him  to 
enter.  Lawrence,  however,  insisted  upon  walking  and 
the  sheriff,  not  being  anxious  to  get  into  a  row  with 
the  editor,  walked  with  him.  Lawrence  insisted  upon 
walking  very  slowly.  We  had  a  petition  for  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  all  ready,  had  it  issued,  got  into  a  carriage 
and  were  at  the  jail  entrance  fifteen  minutes  ahead  of 
the  sheriff  with  his  prisoner.  The  writ  was  promptly 
served  on  the  sheriff,  who  promptly  returned  with  the 


98  REMINISCENCES 

editor  to  the  court  of  Judge  Dunne,  who  had  issued 
the  writ.  Thus  the  editor  lost  one  opportunity  of 
inspecting  the  interior  of  a  jail,  for  on  the  hearing  in 
the  habeas  corpus  proceedings  before  Judge  Dunne 
he  was  discharged  from  the  alleged  contempt. 

After  arrangements  had  been  made  to  hold  a  World's 
Fair  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  a  syndicate  was  formed 
to  purchase  the  panorama  "The  Battle  of  Sedan," 
which  was  on  exhibition  in  Frankfurt,  and  exhibit  it 
in  New  Orleans  during  the  Fair,  and  afterwards  in 
other  cities.  Handsome  returns  were  expected,  based 
on  the  experience  had  with  the  picture  of  the  Battle 
of  Gettysburg,  which  at  that  time  had  been  on  exhibi- 
tion in  Chicago  for  more  than  a  year  and  had  been 
paying  to  the  stockholders  regularly  a  dividend  of 
ten  per  cent  a  month. 

My  law  firm  was  selected  to  represent  the  syndicate, 
and  I  went  to  Frankfurt  to  negotiate  the  purchase  and 
attend  to  the  transportation  of  it  to  New  Orleans. 
The  owner  of  the  painting  was  a  rich  Hollander,  who 
came  to  meet  me  in  Frankfurt.  We  stopped  at  the 
Hotel  Frankfurterhof  during  the  two  weeks  required 
to  close  the  negotiations  and  secure  the  painting. 
During  that  time  we  met  every  morning  at  breakfast 
and  in  the  evening  at  dinner.  One  morning  while 
breakfasting,  a  Jewish  family,  which  had  evidently 
just  arrived  in  the  city,  came  into  the  dining  room  and 
ordered  breakfast.  When  they  were  seated  the  Hol- 
lander said,  "I  will  be  happy  when  I  am  home  again 
and  will  not  have  to  endure  such  an  annoyance." 
"What  is  annoying  you?"  I  asked.  "Does  it  not 
annoy  you,"  he  said,  "to  be  compelled  to  eat  in  the 
same  room  with  Jews?"     "No,"  I  answered  honestly 


THE  CITIZEN  99 

enough,  and  switched  the  conversation,  for  since  I 
acted  in  a  representative  capacity  in  my  dealing  with 
the  Hollander  I  felt  I  ought  not  to  allow  any  personal 
matters  to  interfere  with  the  negotiations. 

After  the  painting  was  paid  for  and  turned  over  to 
me  I  said  to  the  Hollander,  "I  am  going  tomorrow 
morning  to  Amsterdam,  so  I  will  say  good-bye  to  you 
now."  The  Hollander  asked  me  to  delay  my  trip  for 
two  days  and  then  go  with  him  to  Amsterdam;  that 
he  had  a  home  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city  and  would 
like  to  have  me  as  his  guest  at  his  home  for  a  few 
days.  " Before  giving  you  an  answer, "  I  said,  "I 
would  like  to  ask  you  a  question.  We  have  met  each 
day  for  two  weeks.  Was  there  anything  in  my  be- 
havior or  in  my  negotiations  which  displeased  you?" 
"Certainly  not,"  he  said.  "If  it  annoys  you  to  be 
compelled  to  eat  in  a  public  dining  room  because  a  few 
Jews  happen  to  be  in  the  same  room,  how  much  more 
would  your  feelings  be  hurt  if  you  should  find  that  by 
your  own  invitation  a  Jew  had  sat  at  the  same  table 
with  you  under  your  own  roof  ?  As  I  am  a  Jew,  I  can- 
not accept  your  invitation."  The  next  morning  when 
I  came  to  the  depot  I  found  the  Hollander  there  await- 
ing me.  He  said,  "Mr.  Kraus — you  have  taught  me 
a  lesson.  The  remark  I  made  concerning  Jews  was 
unjust.  I  regret  that  I  made  it.  Now,  knowing  that 
you  are  a  Jew,  I  urgently  request  you  to  give  me  the 
honor  of  being  my  guest  at  my  home."  "I  would 
accept  your  invitation  with  pleasure,"  I  said,  "were  it 
not  for  the  fact  that  I  have  only  five  days  left  before 
my  boat  sails  for  America  and  those  days  must  be 
given  to  my  mother  in  Bohemia."  We  shook  hands  in 
farewell  and  I  never  saw  him  again. 


100  REMINISCENCES 

After  the  death  of  Carter  H.  Harrison,  his  sons, 
Carter  Junior,  and  Preston,  had  control  of  the  Chicago 
Times,  which  they  managed  up  to  the  latter  part  of 
1895.  One  day  both  called  to  see  me,  and  in  stating 
the  purpose  of  their  visit  Carter  said,  "Tomorrow's 
issue  of  the  Times  will  be  the  last.  In  conducting  the 
paper  we  have  lost  all  the  assets  we  had,  excepting  real 
estate,  and  that  we  propose  to  hold.  Father  told  us 
once  that  no  matter  what  the  financial  loss  in  publish- 
ing the  Times  might  be  he  would  never  assess  you,  be- 
cause you  subscribed  for  the  stock  at  his  request.  In 
this  respect  we  have  carried  out  his  wishes  and  have 
not  assessed  you.  The  property  is  clear,  all  the  debts 
are  paid,  but  we  can  go  no  further.  We  have  tried  to 
sell  it,  but  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  an  offer  of  even 
as  much  as  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  for  it."  I 
then  made  the  proposition  that  if  they  would  transfer 
to  me  without  charge  enough  of  their  stock  to  give  me 
the  majority,  I  would  publish  the  paper  at  my  expense 
for  at  least  one  year  and  would  not  call  on  them  for 
any  contribution.  If  I  should  fail  to  put  the  paper 
on  a  paying  basis  within  that  time,  I  would  make  them 
a  present  of  all  of  the  stock  and  turn  the  business  over 
to  them  free  of  debt.  This  proposition  was  promptly 
accepted.  I  engaged  new  talent,  increased  the  size 
of  the  paper,  leased  private  wires  to  Washington,  New 
York,  and  St.  Louis,  and,  according  to  the  statement 
of  Joseph  Medill,  owner  of  the  Tribune,  made  a  good 
paper  of  it.  In  a  short  time  the  circulation  as  well  as 
advertising  increased  materially. 

A  Mr.  Hawley,  who  had  been  the  owner  of  a  daily 
newspaper  in  a  Western  city  and  who  was  an  experi- 
enced newspaper  man,  desired  to  purchase  an  interest 


THE  CITIZEN  101 

in  the  Times,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Harrison 
boys  I  sold  him  their  interest  in  the  paper  for  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  about  four  months  the 
income  of  the  paper  was  sufficient  to  cover  the  cost  of 
publication,  and  prospects  for  its  future  success  were 
bright. 

Mr.  Hawley  was  given  charge  of  the  management 
of  the  paper,  while  its  editorial  policy  was  left  to  me. 
A  number  of  the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  at 
that  time  were  for  free  silver.  Hawley  was  also  a  free 
silver  man,  while  I  believed  that  free  silver  meant  the 
ruination  of  the  business  interests  of  the  country. 
Since  I  had  charge  of  the  editorial  policy  the  paper 
became  an  anti-free  silver  paper.  This,  as  might  be 
expected,  created  friction  between  the  two  owners,  and 
Hawley  sought  for  someone  to  buy  him  out.  One  day 
he  submitted  to  me  a  proposition  which  he  had  received 
from  Mr.  Kohlsaat,  owner  of  the  Herald,  who  wanted 
to  consolidate  the  two  papers  under  the  name  of  the 
"Times-Herald."  He  offered  to  pay  for  it  three 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand  dollars,  partly  in  cash 
and  partly  in  stock  of  the  consolidated  paper.  Mr. 
Hawley  offered  to  take  the  stock  and  remain  with  the 
Times-Herald,  while  I  was  given  the  option  of  taking 
cash  or  stock.  The  sale  was  made  and  that  ended  my 
career  as  the  responsible  editor  of  a  daily  paper.  By 
the  sale  my  original  investment  and  all  expenditures 
for  improvements  were  made  good  and  more. 

While  in  charge  of  the  paper  I  had  some  interesting 
experiences.  Ownership  of  the  paper  carried  with  it 
membership  in  the  Associated  Press.  The  City  Press 
is  a  separate  institution,  of  which  the  Harrison  boys  at 
one  time  were  members  but  gave  up  that  membership 


102  REMINISCENCES 

and  hired  special  reporters  for  city  news,  in  the  effort 
to  improve  the  Times.  The  result  was  that  the  City 
Press,  being  a  combination  of  newspapers,  was  able  to 
employ  more  men  than  the  Times,  and  accordingly 
the  other  papers  gathered  and  published  more  local 
news.  When  I  took  over  the  paper  I  decided  to  join 
the  City  Press  Association,  but  in  order  to  do  that  I 
had  to  secure  the  consent  of  all  the  other  morning 
papers.  I  obtained  the  consent  of  the  Tribune,  the 
Inter  Ocean,  and  the  Record.  The  only  other  paper 
was  the  Herald,  then  owned  by  John  R.  Walsh  and 
managed  by  a  Mr.  Scott,  who  was  also  Secretary  of 
the  City  Press.  Scott  also  consented  and  I  told  him 
we  would  commence  taking  the  service  on  the  follow- 
ing Sunday.  Saturday  morning  I  called  up  Scott  on 
the  'phone  and  asked  him  if  we  could  depend  on  having 
the  local  news  for  the  Sunday  morning  paper.  He 
replied  that  Walsh  had  instructed  him  not  to  furnish 
us  the  news  before  he  gave  his  consent,  and  that  before 
his  consent  should  be  given  I  would  have  to  agree  to 
certain  conditions.  "What  conditions?"  I  asked. 
"All  the  morning  papers  sell  for  two  cents,"  he  said. 
"Your  paper  is  sold  for  one  cent.  Mr.  Walsh  says 
you  must  raise  the  price  to  two  cents  and  he  wants  to 
talk  to  you  concerning  your  editorial  policy."  "Tell 
Walsh  that  when  I  feel  the  need  of  a  guardian  I  will 
consider  his  proposition."  I  called  in  the  best  reporter 
on  the  Times  and  instructed  him  to  be  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Walsh's  home  every  morning  in  time  to  follow 
him  when  he  left  his  home,  and  report  everything  he 
did  from  the  time  he  left  the  house  in  the  morning  until 
he  returned  home  in  the  evening.  John  R.  Walsh  at 
that  time  was  the  owner  of  the  Herald,  the  Evening 


THE  CITIZEN  103 

Post,  owned  the  majority  of  the  stock  in  the  Equitable 
Trust  Company,  controlled  the  Chicago  National  Bank, 
was  publisher  of  the  city  directory,  and  was  President 
of  a  short  railroad  line  in  Michigan. 

The  next  day  a  column  in  the  Times  was  devoted  to 
John  R.  Walsh.  His  entire  career  was  published,  how 
he  rose  from  a  newspaper  peddler  to  the  high  positions 
he  then  occupied.  The  article  stated  that  it  must 
certainly  be  of  interest  to  the  public  to  know  how  one 
man  could  manage  so  many  important  institutions  at 
the  same  time,  and  accordingly  his  doings  from  day 
to  day  would  be  published.  This  was  followed  by  a 
full  report  of  his  doings  from  the  time  he  left  his  home 
in  the  morning  until  his  return  in  the  evening.  His 
bank  was  on  the  first  floor  of  the  building  at  the  corner 
of  Monroe  and  Dearborn  Streets.  The  names  of  those 
who  came  to  see  him,  how  long  each  one  conversed 
with  him,  and  all  of  his  doings,  were  fully  reported, 
and  that  was  continued  from  day  to  day.  While  a 
number  of  respectable  business  men  called  on  Walsh 
each  day,  there  were  also  some  whose  presence  in  his 
private  room  was  not  a  matter  that  gave  him  any 
particular  pride  or  pleasure  in  having  published. 

Mr.  Blount,  cashier  of  the  bank,  asked  me  one  day 
for  the  sake  of  the  bank  employes  to  stop  publishing 
Walsh's  doings.  "When  Walsh  comes  into  the  bank 
in  the  morning,"  he  said,  "the  first  thing  he  does  is 
to  pick  up  the  Times,  read  the  account  of  himself, 
then  he  tears  up  the  paper  and  makes  the  life  of  every- 
body in  the  bank  miserable."  A  few  days  afterwards 
Mr.  Scott,  Walsh's  editor,  called  at  the  Times'  office 
and  told  me  that  the  Times  could  have  the  City  Press 
service.     I  replied  that  if  Walsh  had  given  up  the  idea 


104  REMINISCENCES 

of  controlling  the  Times  in  any  manner  I  would  quit, 
but  that  I  would  not  for  the  present  accept  his  offer, 
because  I  did  not  want  to  leave  myself  open  to  the  charge 
that  I  was  bought  off. 

It  is  possible  that  in  trying  to  prevent  the  Times 
from  receiving  the  service  of  the  City  Press  Walsh  was 
attempting  to  even  up  things  with  me  for  the  part  I 
played  on  behalf  of  Peter  Kiolbassa,  who  was  elected 
City  Treasurer  in  the  campaign  in  which  the  two 
Washburns,  Harrison,  and  Cregier,  were  candidates 
for  the  mayoralty.  In  that  campaign  Kiolbassa  was 
candidate  for  City  Treasurer  on  the  Cregier  ticket,  and 
was  the  only  candidate  on  that  ticket  who  was  elected. 
He  was  of  Polish  birth,  of  fair  education,  was  honorable 
in  all  his  dealings  and,  accordingly,  probably  received 
every  Polish  vote  in  the  city,  which  resulted  in  his 
election  by  a  small  plurality.  Prior  to  that  time  City 
Treasurers,  as  well  as  County  Treasurers,  deposited 
the  public  monies  in  banks  at  an  agreed  rate  of  interest, 
which  the  Treasurer  appropriated  to  himself.  The 
office  was  therefore  worth  to  the  Treasurer  from  a  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  a  year,  upwards. 

After  the  election  John  R.  Walsh  sent  for  Kiolbassa 
and  told  him  to  go  to  Springfield  where  the  legislature 
was  in  session  and  lobby  for  a  bill  prohibiting  a  Treasur- 
er from  keeping  any  of  the  interest  and  compelling  him 
to  turn  it  over  to  the  city.  The  bill  was  just,  but 
Kiolbassa  said:  "I  am  elected  Treasurer.  I  will  turn 
over  all  interest  on  city  funds  to  the  city  voluntarily. 
I  am  not  a  lobbyist.  I  would  not  know  how  to  lobby 
and  will  not  go  to  Springfield."  Walsh  replied,  "You 
will  either  go  to  Springfield  and  work  for  the  bill,  or 
you  will  not  be  Treasurer." 


THE  CITIZEN  105 

The  bond  required  of  a  City  Treasurer  at  that  time, 
in  order  to  qualify  him,  amounted  to  seventeen  million 
dollars.  In  view  of  the  size  of  the  required  bond  it 
was  the  practice  before  that  time,  and  since,  for  the 
banks  in  which  the  Treasurer  deposited  the  city  funds 
to  furnish  the  bond,  but  when  Kiolbassa  called  on  the 
banks  for  this  purpose  each  one  of  them  refused.  I 
was  Kiolbassa's  lawyer  and  was  also  one  of  the  direc- 
tors of  the  American  Trust  and  Savings  Bank,  which 
had  other  directors  of  large  wealth  whose  signatures  to 
the  bond  would  have  been  sufficient.  I  asked  the 
president  of  the  bank  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  directors, 
ask  them  to  sign  the  bond,  and  that  if  they  did  so 
Kiolbassa  would  deposit  all  the  City's  funds  in  that  bank 
and  would,  moreover,  if  desired,  allow  the  directors  to 
select  all  of  the  Treasurer's  employes,  so  as  to  mini- 
mize the  chances  of  loss.  The  president  replied  that 
it  could  not  be  done,  because  Walsh  had  sent  word  to 
all  the  banks  not  to  sign  the  bond ;  that  if  his  bank  alone 
should  sign  the  bond,  all  the  other  banks  would  refuse 
to  come  to  its  assistance  in  case  such  assistance  should 
at  any  time  be  needed  by  reason  of  a  money  panic  or 
other  emergency. 

I  called  on  Mr.  Harrison,  told  him  what  had  hap- 
pened and  asked  him  to  head  a  list  of  citizens  which 
I  thought  could  be  secured  to  sign  the  bond  as  sureties. 
Harrison  said:  "Why  should  I  sign  his  bond?  He  was 
a  candidate  on  the  opposition  ticket.  That  ticket 
received  the  bulk  of  the  Polish  votes  that  alone, 
was  enough  to  defeat  me."  I  said:  "The  entire  Polish 
people  are  aware  of  the  treatment  Kiolbassa  has 
received  at  the  hands  of  the  banks  and  certain  political 
enemies,  with  respect  to  this  bond.     If  you  will   be 


106  REMINISCENCES 

the  first  to  sign  the  bond  you  will  not  only  perform  a 
good  deed,  but  as  a  political  stroke  it  would  bring  to 
your  support,  whenever  you  wanted  it,  the  entire  Polish 
vote  of  the  city."  He  signed  the  bond  and  within  a 
few  hours  it  was  signed  also  by  Mike  McDonald, 
Wm.  J.  English,  Levy  Mayer,  and  myself,  represent- 
ing an  aggregate  security  of  about  twelve  million 
dollars.  I  gave  the  bond  to  Kiolbassa  and  told  him 
to  get  as  many  leading  citizens  of  Polish  nativity 
who  owned  real  estate  to  sign  it  as  he  could.  He 
secured  about  fifty  such  signatures,  very  few  of  which 
were  able  individually  to  schedule  over  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars. 

The  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Council  were 
Democrats.  I  called  on  the  leader  and  explained  how 
Walsh  was  trying  to  deprive  Kiolbassa  of  the  election; 
that  the  Treasurer  would  not  at  any  one  time  have  in 
his  hands  more  than  eight  million  dollars;  that  the 
bond  was  ample  to  protect  the  city  even  without  the 
Polish  signatures ;  and  asked  him  to  call  a  caucus  of  the 
Democratic  members  and  make  the  approval  of  the 
bond  a  party  measure.  This  was  done  and  Kiolbassa 
and  I  attended  the  meeting  of  the  City  Council  when 
the  bond  was  presented  for  approval.  The  City  Clerk 
read  the  names  of  the  sureties,  but  when  he  came 
to  the  Polish  names  he  could  not  pronounce  them, 
which  caused  some  merriment.  A  Democratic  alder- 
man arose  and  asked:  "Mr.  Clerk,  is  that  bond 
sufficient?"  The  Clerk  replied  that  it  was  more  than 
sufficient.  A  motion  to  approve  the  bond  was  then 
made  and  promptly  carried.  The  bond  having  been 
thus  approved,  arrangements  were  made  with  the  out- 
going City  Treasurer  to  meet  at  his  office  the  following 


THE  CITIZEN  107 

day  for  the  purpose  of  turning  the  funds  in  his  hands 
over  to  the  new  Treasurer.  The  outgoing  Treasurer 
presented  certified  checks  from  the  different  banks  in 
which  the  money  was  deposited,  all  of  which  were 
accepted  except  that  of  the  bank  of  which  Walsh  was 
president.  In  rejecting  that  one  I  said:  "We  will 
not  accept  a  certified  check  from  that  bank.  Walsh 
was  determined  to  keep  Kiolbassa  out  of  office  for  some 
reason  or  other.  It  may  be  that  he  has  not  on  hand 
the  money  which  is  due  the  city.  In  any  event,  we 
will  take  no  chances  and  will  accept  nothing  but  cash." 
The  ex-Treasurer  had  to  go  to  the  bank  and  bring  the 
cash.  When  he  came  back  with  the  cash  he  said  that 
Walsh  was  very  angry  at  this  sudden  withdrawal  of 
such  a  large  amount  of  cash,  leaving  his  bank  in  a 
condition  which  invited  serious  trouble.  Some  time 
later  Walsh's  bank  failed,  and  in  connection  with  some 
of  his  transactions  with  it  Walsh  was  indicted, convicted, 
and  sent  to  the  Federal  penitentiary. 

While  John  P.  Altgeld  was  a  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  he  purchased  vacant  property  in  the  north 
division  of  the  city,  subdivided  it  and  sold  it.  With 
the  profits  he  purchased  land  on  Market  and  Van 
Buren  Streets,  erected  new  buildings  and  sold  them. 
He  often,  asked  my  opinion  in  connection  with  his  real 
estate  ventures.  One  day  he  told  me  he  had  signed  a 
ninety-nine  year  lease  on  the  property,  75  to  79  North 
Dearborn  Street,  and  intended  to  erect  on  it  a  sixteen 
story  building  at  a  cost  of  about  one  million  dollars, 
and  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  it.  I  asked  him  how 
much  money  he  had  and  he  told  me  he  had  about 
four  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  intended  to  borrow 
six  hundred  thousand  dollars  more.     I  strongly  advised 


108  REMINISCENCES 

him  against  the  plan,  saying:  "Why  should  you  take 
such  a  risk?  You  have  no  children.  Four  hundred 
thousand  dollars  at  six  per  cent  will  bring  you  a  yearly 
income  of  twenty-four  thousand  dollars.  The  way 
you  live  you  cannot  possibly  spend  it.  If  the  venture 
should  prove  a  failure,  as  I  fear  it  will  because  the 
location  is  not  ripe  for  a  sixteen  story  building,  and  the 
mortgage  should  be  foreclosed,  you  would  lose  every- 
thing you  have,  and  if  that  should  happen  at  your  age 
you  would  probably  never  again  be  in  as  good  financial 
position  as  you  now  are."  "Because  I  have  no  chil- 
dren," he  replied,  "  I  have  to  create  something  and  so  I 
am  creating  buildings."  He  went  ahead  with  his  plans 
and  constructed  what  was  called  the  Unity  Building. 
My  law  firm  rented  part  of  one  floor  of  the  new  building. 
From  the  very  beginning  Altgeld  had  a  hard  time  in 
meeting  his  obligations  on  the  building  and  a  few  years 
later  the  mortgage  was  foreclosed  and  he  lost  every 
dollar  he  had.  Before  that  happened,  however,  he 
became  Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

Mr.  Altgeld  had  a  very  strong,  intellectual  face,  but 
his  manner  of  wearing  his  hair  and  beard  extremely 
short  did  not  add  to  his  beauty.  One  day  I  invited 
him  to  dinner  at  my  house,  and  while  we  were  sitting 
in  the  parlor  my  youngest  boy,  who  was  then  about 
six  years  of  age  and  who  had  heard  that  the  Governor 
was  going  to  be  the  guest  of  the  evening,  came  in  and 
stood  staring  at  Mr.  Altgeld  with  all  his  might.  Mr. 
Altgeld  said,  "Come  here,  my  boy,  I  want  to  talk  to 
you."  The  boy  stepped  forward,  and  Mr.  Altgeld 
said:     "Why  are  you  looking  at  me  so?" 

The  boy — "Are  you  the  President  of  these  United 
States?" 


THE  CITIZEN  109 

Mr.  Altgeld :  "  No,  I  am  only  Governor  of  the  State 
of  Illinois." 

The  boy— "Well,  you  don't  look  like  it." 

The  rising  embarrassment  of  the  family  was  dissi- 
pated by  the  Governor's  hearty  laugh. 

While  Altgeld  was  Governor  an  employee  of  the 
Chicago  Tribune  was  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for 
stealing  from  his  employer.  A  few  months  later  the 
Governor  pardoned  him  and  in  connection  with  the 
pardon  intimated  that  the  Tribune  had  forced  the  man 
to  steal,  because  it  did  not  pay  him  living  wages. 
When  his  term  as  Governor  was  drawing  to  a  close  he 
was  renominated  by  the  Democratic  party  on  a  free 
silver  platform.  I  was  then  a  member  of  the  gold 
Democratic  party,  was  supporting  Palmer  for  President 
and  was,  accordingly,  not  very  popular  with  the  so- 
called  regular  democracy.  The  Governor  had  an 
office  in  the  same  building  in  which  my  office  was 
located,  and  one  day  his  secretary  came  in  and  said 
that  the  Governor  would  like  to  be  invited  to  my  home 
for  dinner  that  evening.  The  invitation  was  quickly 
extended  and  about  six  o'clock  I  went  to  the  Governor's 
office,  asked  him  if  he  was  ready,  and  upon  his  saying 
he  was  I  told  him  my  carriage  was  waiting.  That 
was  before  the  days  of  automobiles.  After  dinner 
we  sat  in  the  library  until  almost  one  o'clock  in 
the  morning  talking.  During  the  conversation  he 
said  he  supposed  I  had  wondered  why  he  had  asked  to 
be  invited  to  my  house.  I  replied  that  I  had  not  given 
it  a  thought,  since  we  had  always  been  good  friends, 
and  was  glad  he  had  done  so.  "I  had  a  special  reason 
for  wanting  to  come  to  your  house  tonight,"  he  said. 
"I  have  not  had  a  minute's  peace  since  the  campaign 


110  REMINISCENCES 

started.  All  day  long  a  line  of  politicians  is  in  my  office. 
When  I  leave  the  office  they  come  to  my  house.  I 
must  have  some  rest,  for  I  cannot  stand  this  much 
longer.  I  had  to  go  some  place  where  they  would  not 
be  likely  to  look  for  me.  You  remember  the  story  of 
the  Irishman  who  requested  that  he  be  buried  in  a 
Jewish  cemetery,  because  he  was  sure  that  the  devil 
would  never  look  for  an  Irishman  there.  I  am  sure 
not  a  single  one  of  my  Democratic  supporters  will  look 
for  me  in  the  home  of  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  gold 
Democratic  Party.  This  is  the  first  evening  I  have 
rested  since  the  campaign  started."  I  invited  the 
Governor  to  come  whenever  and  as  often  as  he  could, 
an  invitation  of  which  he  availed  himself  frequently. 

After  the  close  of  his  term  as  Governor  the  mortgage 
on  the  Unity  Building  was  foreclosed.  Later  on  he 
said  that  if  he  could  only  be  sure  of  earning  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  a  year  and  have  time  to  write  a  few 
books,  he  would  be  happy.  He  opened  a  law  office 
and  soon  had  enough  business  to  make  a  comfortable 
living. 

One  day  while  Mr.  Altgeld  was  delivering  an  address 
in  a  public  hall  at  Elgin,  Illinois,  he  was  stricken  with 
apoplexy  and  died  almost  immediately.  After  the 
funeral  Joe  Martin,  a  close  and  loyal  friend  of  Altgeld, 
told  me  that  the  Governor  left  no  estate  whatever, 
excepting  a  small  home  which  was  mortgaged  for  five 
thousand  dollars;  that  the  widow,  who  was  in  feeble 
health,  had  nothing  to  live  on.  Ten  thousand  dollars 
was  raised  for  the  widow,  and  by  the  aid  of  Judge  Moran, 
who  was  a  personal  friend  of  the  president  of  the  New 
York  Life  Insurance  Company,  we  procured  for  the 
ten  thousand  dollars  a  life  annuity  in  a  sum  sufficient 


THE  CITIZEN  111 

to  enable  her  to  live  modestly.  We  then  appealed  to 
the  State  Legislature  to  appropriate  five  thousand 
dollars  to  the  widow  of  ex-Governor  Altgeld  for  the 
purpose  of  paying  off  the  mortgage  on  her  home. 
Reports  came  from  Springfield  that  the  committee  to 
which  the  matter  was  referred  was  considering  the  pro- 
position favorably,  but  that  it  was  meeting  with  opposi- 
tion from  a  representative  of  the  Chicago  Tribune.  I 
called  on  Mr.  Patterson,  who  then  had  control  of  the 
Chicago  Tribune,  and  asked  him  to  withdraw  his 
opposition  and  instruct  his  representative  in  Spring- 
field to  do  what  he  could  to  help  the  bill  along.  Mr. 
Patterson  said,  "How  can  you  ask  me  to  do  that  after 
the  way  Altgeld  treated  us  in  saying  what  he  did  when 
he  pardoned  the  man  who  stole  from  us?"  "I  am  not 
here  to  justify  Altgeld,"  I  replied.  "He  is  dead. 
You  are  too  big  a  man  to  carry  your  grievance  against 
Altgeld  to  the  extent  of  punishing  his  invalid  widow." 
He  sat  there  for  a  minute  looking  at  me,  saying  nothing. 
Then  he  rang  the  bell  for  a  stenographer  and  dictated 
an  order  to  his  representative  in  Springfield  to  do 
everything  in  his  power  to  aid  in  having  the  bill  passed. 
He  turned  to  me  and  asked,  "Are  you  satisfied?"  "I 
knew  you  would  do  that,"  I  replied.  The  legislature 
passed  the  bill,  appropriated  the  five  thousand  dollars, 
and  the  mortgage  was  paid. 


Krans  at  the  Age  of  Forty 


CHAPTER  III 
A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 


Ill 

A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 

George  B.  Swift  was  Mayor  of  Chicago  from  1895  to 
1897.  During  his  term  of  office  the  Illinois  Legislature 
enacted  the  Civil  Service  Law,  and  Mayor  Swift  ap- 
pointed Messrs.  John  M.  Clark,  Robert  A.  Waller,  and 
Christoph  Hotz  as  the  first  Civil  Service  Commissioners. 
The  salary  of  the  Commissioners  was  three  thousand 
dollars  per  annum.  Every  member  of  that  Board  was 
a  man  of  wealth,  had  a  good  reputation,  and  was  un- 
doubtedly moved  to  accept  the  office  by  a  realization  of 
its  great  need  and  a  desire  to  have  the  Civil  Service  Law 
enforced.  They  were  in  office  only  a  short  time  and 
therefore  had  held  but  few  examinations  before  the 
next  mayoralty  election  took  place,  at  which  young 
Carter  H.  Harrison  was  elected. 

The  new  Mayor  appointed  Commissioner  Waller 
as  Comptroller  of  the  city,  which  automatically  re- 
moved him  from  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  and 
then  removed  the  other  two  Commissioners  from 
office.  He  appointed  ex-Mayor  Hempstead  Wash- 
burne,  Dudley  Winston,  and  the  writer,  as  Civil 
Service  Commissioners.  Hempstead  Washburne's  father 
was  at  one  time  American  Minister  to  France. 
Mr.  Winston's  father  was  General  Winston,  United 
States  Minister  to  China.  Upon  organization  of  the 
new  Board  I  was  selected  as  president  of  the  Com- 
mission. The  members  of  the  new  Board,  like  the 
members  of  the  first  Board,  were  men  of  means.  The 
salary  did  not  interest  them;  their  only  object  was  to 

115 


116  REMINISCENCES 

enforce  the  law.  All  three  new  Commissioners  in 
accepting  the  position  made  great  financial  sacrifices, 
my  own  being  not  inconsiderable,  for  I  agreed  with  my 
partners  that  while  holding  the  office  I  would  not  share 
in  the  income  of  the  firm,  which  share  amounted  to 
many  times  the  salary  I  was  to  receive  as  Commissioner. 

My  partners,  Judge  Moran  and  Levy  Mayer,  tried 
to  persuade  me  not  to  accept  the  position,  but  I  felt 
and  argued  that  the  Civil  Service  Law  was  a  great 
reform  measure,  that  if  properly  administered  and 
properly  enforced  it  would  attract  the  attention  of  the 
country  and  be  adopted  in  other  states,  and  thus  bring 
about  better  government  generally;  that  through  its 
proper  administration  and  enforcement  the  Mayor 
would  gain  a  nation-wide  reputation  as  a  reformer 
which  would  possibly  lead  to  his  nomination  for  the 
presidency  of  the  United  States. 

The  Mayor  appointed  Charles  Thornton  as  Corpora- 
tion Counsel.  One  of  the  first  official  acts  of  Mr. 
Thornton  was  to  render  an  opinion  that  the  Civil 
Service  Law  was  unconstitutional,  and  that  accordingly, 
the  Mayor  had  the  power  to  fill  all  offices  without  regard 
to  the  Civil  Service  Law.  From  the  time  that  opinion 
was  given  I  did  not  have  a  peaceful  day  while  in  office. 
The  Commissioners,  being  otherwise  advised  and  be- 
lieving that  the  law  was  valid,  decided  to  ignore  the 
opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel.  The  Mayor 
likewise  disregarded  the  advice  of  his  Corporation 
Counsel,  being  in  favor  of  the  law  with  certain  limita- 
tions, but  his  failure  actively  to  support  the  Commis- 
sioners and  to  remove  from  office  a  Corporation  Counsel 
who  was  opposed  to  the  enforcement  of  the  law,  de- 
prived him  of  any  credit  he  might  otherwise  have  re- 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE  117 

ceived  for  the  efforts  which  were  made  to  enforce 
the  law. 

Because  of  Thornton's  opinion  as  to  the  law  a  large 
number  of  applicants  for  jobs  called  on  him  for  aid. 
He  told  them  they  would  have  no  trouble  in  getting 
positions  if  it  were  not  for  the  Civil  Service  Commission, 
and  that  if  they  wanted  jobs  they  would  have  to  see 
the  Chairman  of  the  Commission.  The  result  was  that 
the  office  of  the  Commission  was  crowded  daily  by 
applicants  for  office.  They  were  told  there  that  the 
Commissioners  had  no  power  to  give  them  jobs;  that 
examinations  would  be  held  to  which  all  applicants 
would  have  to  submit  themselves,  and  that  those  found 
best  qualified  by  the  examiners  would  be  given  the 
positions. 

While  this  was  going  on  I  received  numerous 
threatening  letters,  and  warnings  from  friends  that  my 
life  was  in  danger.  A.  S.  Trude  came  to  me  one  day 
and  said,  "I  have  never  warned  but  one  man  that  he 
was  in  danger  of  being  killed,  and  he  was  killed.  I  am 
warning  you  now  that  you  are  in  danger  of  being 
killed."  Chief  of  Police,  Kipley,  said  to  me,  "  I  cannot 
take  the  responsibility  of  letting  you  go  around  un- 
protected. It  has  come  to  me  that  you  are  to  be 
killed."  He  placed  two  officers  in  the  anteroom  of  the 
Commissioners'  office  and  whenever  I  left  the  office  the 
officers  accompanied  me,  even  when  I  went  to  lunch. 
I  tolerated  this  for  two  days,  then  sent  for  the  Chief 
and  told  him  to  assign  those  officers  to  somebody  else, 
as  I  felt  much  more  at  ease  when  I  was  alone;  that  to 
have  one  detective  in  front  of  me  and  another  behind 
me  wherever  I  went  was  getting  on  my  nerves,  and 
that  if  I  had  to  make  a  choice  between  having  them 


118  REMINISCENCES 

with  me  all  the  time  or  getting  killed,  I  preferred  the 
latter.  The  next  day  I  found  that  during  the  night 
one  policeman  was  stationed  in  front  of  my  house  and 
another  in  the  rear,  and  concluding  that  the  Chief  of 
Police  was  trying  to  frighten  me  into  resigning  I  notified 
him  to  call  off  his  officers  as  I  did  not  need  any  pro- 
tection. 

Joe  Martin  was  City  Collector  during  this  time,  and 
all  of  the  employees  in  his  office  were  appointed  by 
himself.  After  an  examination  for  employees  for  that 
office  was  held,  the  Commissioners  ordered  the  dis- 
charge of  all  of  the  employees  in  the  City  Collector's 
office,  and  certified  a  complete  list  of  new  names  for 
all  the  positions  in  that  office.  Martin,  on  learning  of 
the  order,  came  at  once  to  the  Commissioners'  office  in 
a  violent  rage,  closed  the  door  behind  him  and  said  to 
the  Chairman,  "You  will  either  withdraw  that  order 
or  I  will  kill  you."  I  knew  the  man  well  enough  not 
to  regard  what  he  said  as  a  joke.  There  was  a  revolver 
in  my  desk,  and  taking  it  out  I  pointed  at  Martin  and 
said,  "Get  out  of  here,  or  I  shoot."  Martin  left  im- 
mediately. Subsequently  he  resigned  the  office  of 
City  Collector,  stating  as  his  reason  for  so  doing  that 
he  would  not  hold  office  unless  he  could  appoint  his 
own  employees. 

Martin  was  a  great  admirer  of  Governor  John  P. 
Altgeld,  and  always  referred  to  him  as  the  "Dutch- 
man." One  day,  several  years  after  both  of  us  had 
resigned  political  office,  he  came  to  my  law  office,  sent 
in  his  card  and  was  admitted.  (The  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State,  long  before  that,  had  decided  that  the 
Civil  Service  Law  was  constitutional  and  should  be 
enforced).     When  he  came  in  he  said:     "First  of  all  I 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE  119 

want  to  say  to  you  that  when  I  last  saw  you  in  the  City 
Hall  you  were  right  and  I  was  wrong.  I  thought  I 
had  a  grievance  against  you.  One  day  I  spoke  of  it  to 
the  '  Dutchman. '  You  know  anything  the  '  Dutch- 
man' says  is  law  to  me.  I  love  him  and  respect  him 
more  than  any  man  living.  He  told  me  that  you  were 
right  and  that  you  were  honest,  and  he  said  to  me,  '  If 
you  should  ever  get  into  any  trouble  and  want  a  man 
you  can  rely  on,  go  and  see  Kraus. '  I  am  now  in  posi- 
tion where  I  need  some  one  to  rely  on,  so  I  came  to 
see  you.  I  am  in  trouble.  I  am  going  to  Europe.  I 
have  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  money.  I  do  not  want 
my  wife,  nor  anybody  else,  to  know  I  have  it.  It  is 
all  I  have  and  I  need  it  to  live  on.  Now  what  I  want 
is  this — I  want  to  give  you  the  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
If  I  come  back  from  Europe,  you  return  it  to  me.  If 
I  do  not,  let  the  law  take  its  course."  I  said,  "  Martin, 
you  are  talking  foolishly.  Deposit  the  money  in  some 
bank."  "No,"  said  he.  "I  won't  trust  any  bank. 
It  may  leak  out  that  the  money  is  there."  He  pressed 
me  so  earnestly  that  I  finally  agreed  to  take  care  of  the 
money  for  him.  I  sealed  it  in  an  envelope,  wrote  on 
the  envelope,  "This  is  the  property  of  Joe  Martin, "  and 
placed  it  in  my  safety  deposit  box  in  the  bank.  Six 
months  afterwards  Martin  returned  from  Europe  and 
his  money  was  returned  to  him.  Up  to  the  time  of 
his  death  there  was  never  an  election  that  Martin 
failed  to  call  on  me  and  offer  his  services  in  behalf  of 
anyone  in  whom  I  might  be  interested. 

The  Civil  Service  Commission  was  a  lively  subject 
of  public  interest  during  this  time.  The  newspapers 
of  the  city,  which  almost  without  exception  were 
favorable  to  the  Commissioners,   published  daily  re- 


120 


REMINISCENCES 


ports  of  its  proceedings,  and  matters  affecting  it.  To 
print  them  all  would  take  hundreds  of  pages.  The 
reproduction  here  of  a  few  items  from  the  newspapers 
of  that  time  will  suffice  to  show  some  of  the  obstacles 
with  which  the  Commissioners  were  confronted: 


Chicago  Chronicle,  June  8th 
President  Kraus  of  the  civil  service 
commission  is  said  to  be  of  the  opinion 
that  the  board  must  comply  with  the 
civil  service  law.  The  marvel  is  that 
there  should  be  any  contention  on 
this  point.  The  board  of  education  is 
not  above  the  law,  though  some  of  its 
members  appear  to  think  so.  Mr. 
Kraus  is  properly  jealous  of  the  full 
discharge  of  any  function  wherewith 
he  is  clothed.  He  will  see  that  the 
board  complies  with  the  law  or  he  will 
know  the  reason  why. 

Chicago  Inter  Ocean,  June  14,  1897 

THE  THORNTON-KRAUS 
CORRESPONDENCE 

In  the  case  brought  in  the  Supreme 
court  of  Illinois  to  determine  judici- 
ally the  scope  of  the  Chicago  civil- 
service  act  the  return  day  is  today. 
Saturday  there  passed  a  very  re- 
markable correspondence  between 
Corporation  Counsel  Thornton  and 
the  president  of  the  commission,  Mr. 
Kraus,  published  in  the  Inter  Ocean 
yesterday.  Mr.  Thornton  announced 
that  he  proposed  to  take  charge  of  the 
case,  and  Mr.  Kraus  flatly,  although 
courteously,  told  him  that  the  com- 
mission proposed  to  have  the  argu- 
ment in  the  case  made  by  Messrs. 
Moran,  Ela,  and  Mayer,  and  that  for 
the  reason  that  he,  Thornton,  believes 
the  law  unconstitutional. 

The  impropriety  of  Thornton's  ap- 
pearing at  all  in  the  case,  entertaining 
this  opinion  of  the  statute,  was 
pointed  out  editorially  by  The  Inter 
Ocean  yesterday,  and  evidently  Mr. 
Kraus  and  his  fellow  commissioners 
take  the  same  view  of  the  matter. 
There  is  really  no  room  for  difference 
of  opinion  on  this  point.  But  Thorn- 
ton bluntly  tells  Mr.  Kraus  that  as 


the  legal  officer  of  the  city  he  proposes 
to  have  the  validity  of  the  law  tested 
and  that  his  office  will  be  represented 
in  the  Supreme  court  for  that  purpose. 
Thornton  prefaced  this  declaration 
with  the  remark,  "I  do  not  know  who 
your  informant  may  be,  but  I  have 
never  made  a  statement  to  the  effect 
that  the  law  was  unconstitutional." 
This  sounds  well,  but  as  a  matter  of 
fact  gave  Mr.  Kraus  an  opportunity 
to  expose  this  man  Thornton  and  put 
him  in  a  very  compromising  light.  In 
his  first  letter  Thornton  said:  "Mr. 
Hill  of  this  office  will  present  the 
same,"  that  is,  the  answer  of  Monday, 
"and  represent  your  commission  and 
this  office  in  the  Supreme  court." 
Now  mark  the  center  shot  of  the 
Kraus  reply  to  the  Thornton  chal- 
lenge of  his  right  to  say  that  Thornton 
did  not  believe  the  law  constitutional: 

Chicago,  June  12,  1897.— Hon. 
Charles  S.  Thornton. — Dear  Sir:  In 
your  last  letter  to  the  commissioners 
you  say  that  you  did  not  know  who 
our  informant  is  as  to  the  statement 
that  you  claim  the  civil  service  law  is 
unconstitutional.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  Mr.  Hill,  representing  your 
department,  submitted  to  us  an 
answer  to  the  mandamus  proceeding, 
to  which  your  name  was  attached  as 
our  attorney,  questioning  the  con- 
stitutionality of  the  law.  The  com- 
missioners will  conduct  their  own 
defense  of  the  law.  Very  truly  yours, 
Adolf  Kraus. 

There  was  never  a  clearer  case  of 
the  biter  bit.  The  statute  makes  the 
commission  master  of  the  situation. 
Of  course  it  does  not  specifially  pro- 
vide for  the  trial  of  a  test  case,  but  it 
does  contemplate  resort  to  the  courts 
and  provide  for  legal  representation. 
The  attorney  general  and  the  state's 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 


121 


attorney  for  the  county  are  specifi- 
cally mentioned.  Not  a  word  is  said 
about  the  corporation  counsel.  But, 
in  addition  to  the  attorney  general 
and  the  state's  attorney,  is  this  pro- 
vision, "or  by  the  commission,  acting 
through  special  counsel."  In  this  case 
the  commission  simply  exercises  its 
right  to  act  through  special  counsel. 
It  is  not  likely  the  supreme  court  will 
allow  an  outsider  to  interfere  with  the 
proceedings,  even  though  he  may 
represent  the  corporation  counsel. 
Moran  and  Mayer  simply  contend  in 
their  answer  that  the  classification 
adopted  by  the  commission  is  in 
strict  accordance  with  the  spirit  and 
letter  of  the  law.  This  meets  the 
issue  raised  by  the  petition  for  a  man- 
damus, and  meets  it  fully.  Even  if 
Hill  were  allowed  to  appear  in  the 
case  the  court  would  have  no  right 
to  entertain  any  question  going  be- 
yond and  outside  of  the  issue  raised 
by  the  petition. 

Chicago  Tribune,  June  24,  1897 

THORNTON  GOES  VISITING 
TO  KRAUS 

Corporation    Counsel   and    Chief   of 
Civil  Service  Board  Tell 
Stories  of  the  Interview. 


Chicago  Tribune,  June  25,  1897 

KRAUS  TIRED,  BUT  NOT  OUT 

CIVIL     SERVICE     COMMISSION 
BESET  ON  ALL  SIDES 


Corporation  Counsel  Thornton  yes- 
terday made  a  long  call  on  Civil  Ser- 
vice Commissioner  Kraus.  After  it 
was  over  Mr.  Thornton  said  he  had 
stepped  in  to  invite  his  late  victorious 
antagonist  to  go  to  the  circus  with 
him,  but  Mr.  Kraus  told  another 
story. 

"Mr.  Thornton,"  he  said,  "com- 
plained the  questions  asked  in  the 
civil  service  examination  were  such 
as  could  only  be  answered  by  college 
professors  and  graduates,  and  I  took 
some  pains  to  prove  to  him  the  con- 
trary by  showing  him  a  lot  of  examina- 
tion papers." 

"Whom  did  he  make  that  com- 
plaint for?"    Mr.  Kraus  was  asked. 

"I  did  not  understand,"  was  the 
answer,  "he  claimed  to  represent  no 
one  but  himself." 


Declares  He  Would  Welcome  Dis- 
missal, but  Does  Not  Intend  to 
Resign— Long  List  of  Sixty-Day 
Appointments  Stirs  Him  Up — 
Seeming  Plot  to  Make  Trouble 
Between  Him  and  Mayor  Harrison 
— Hungry  Office-seekers  Put  on 
Pressure. 


Civil  Service  Commissioner  Kraus 
was  not  in  an  amiable  frame  of  mind 
yesterday  and  had  no  hesitancy  in 
saying  so. 

"If  I  had  known  what  this  position 
meant  I  never  would  have  taken  it," 
he  remarked,  "but  now  I  am  here  I 
do  not  intend  to  run  away.  Person- 
ally I  would  welcome  my  dismissal. 
In  fact,  I  would  donate  several 
months'  salary  to  any  one  who  would 
show  me  an  honorable  way  of  getting 
out  of  my  job. 

"But  one  thing  is  certain:  I  am 
not  going  to  resign.  I  am  not  one  of 
the  kind  to  run  away,  and  while  I  am 
under  oath  to  enforce  the  civil  service 
law  honestly  and  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  I  propose  to  fulfill  my  obliga- 
tion." 

Commissioner  Kraus  is  beset  by 
difficulties  on  all  sides.  Every  high 
official  in  the  City  Hall  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Commissioner  McGann 
and  Controller  Waller  is  doing  his 
best  to  make  trouble  between  Mr. 
Kraus  and  the  Mayor,  and  at  the 
same  time  using  all  their  wits  to  de- 
vise methods  of  evading  the  civil 
service  law.  The  advice  of  Corpora- 
tion Counsel  Thornton  is  being  con- 
stantly sought  to  this  end  and  no 
application  to  him  is  ever  refused. 

Commissioner  Kraus  sits  in  his 
office  like  a  big  watchdog,  in  constant 
suspicion  of  all  comers,  and  has  a 
fight  on  his  hands  all  the  time. 

It  seems  as  if  everybody  in  the 
building  was  leagued  together  to 
defeat  the  law,  and  Mr.  Kraus,  as  its 
only  defender,  has  to  challenge  every- 


122 


REMINISCENCES 


thing  which  is  done  in  connection 
with  the  civil  service,  and  is  then 
never  certain  but  the  law  is  being 
violated  behind  his  back. 

Chicago  Ills.,  Chronicle,  June  26, 

1897 

He  Must  Stand  by  the  Ship 

Adolf  Kraus  must  not  weary  of 
well-doing. 

Placed  in  the  board  of  education, 
he  performed  courageously  his  full 
duty  as  an  inspector.  Appointed  cor- 
poration counsel  by  Mayor  Harrison 
he  made  that  office  conspicuously 
efficient.  He  is  now  president  of  the 
civil  service  commission  and  finds 
himself  in  such  hot  water  that  he 
would  gladly  retire  from  the  position 
and  seek  the  comparative  quiet  of  his 
law  office.  But  Adolf  Kraus  is  not 
the  crawfish  kind  of  man.  He  is  not 
built  to  take  water.  The  more  he  is 
opposed,  vexed,  bothered  and  at- 
tempt is  made  to  bully  him  the 
firmer  he  is,  not  to  say  the  more 
obstinate. 

Mr.  Kraus,  admitting  the  difficul- 
ties of  his  present  position,  intimates 
that  he  is  not  of  the  resigning  kind. 
A  man  of  his  decision,  courage  and 
capacity  is  needed  in  just  the  place 
he  is  in,  and,  though  it  is  not  profit- 
able for  him  personally  to  occupy  it, 
it  may  be  hoped  that  no  personal 
consideration  will  overcome  his  sense 
of  public  duty. 

Mr.  Kraus  ought  to  stick. 

Chicago  Tribune,  June  29,  1897 

ANOTHER  ATTACK  ON  CIVIL 

SERVICE 

At  its  meeting  on  Sunday  the 
Building  Trades  council  adopted  a 
set  of  resolutions  declaring  that  "the 
civil  service  law  as  applied  in  this 
city  is  entirely  un-American  in  spirit" ; 
that  the  Civil  Service  commission, 
"through  a  series  of  abstruse  ques- 
tions of  little  necessity  for  the  posi- 
tions applied  for,  but  easily  answered 
by  the  college  graduate,  has  shut  out 
the  workingmen";  and  that  therefore 
the  Building  Trades  council  will  try 
to  secure  the  repeal  of  *he  law. 


President  Kraus  is  surprised  at  the 
ignorance  displayed  in  these  resolu- 
tions. For  it  so  happens  that  the 
questions  put  to  persons  examined 
for  the  positions  which  members  of 
the  Building  Trades  council  are  likely 
to  seek  for  are  questions  of  a  practical 
nature,  which  no  college  graduate  will 
be  able  to  answer. 

Mr.  Kraus  gives  the  questions  put 
to  forty-three  men  who  wanted  places 
as  blacksmiths.  All  of  them  are  about 
iron  and  steel  and  blacksmithing.  A 
college  graduate,  seeing  those  ques- 
tions which  a  man  who  understood 
the  trade  could  answer,  even  though 
unable  to  read,  complained  that  they 
were  questions  which  only  a  black- 
smith could  answer.  So  the  questions 
put  to  men  who  wish  to  be  plumbers 
in  the  city's  employ  are  such  as 
plumbers  can  answer,  but  collegians 
cannot. 

Undoubtedly  the  action  of  the 
Building  Trades  council  was  inspired 
by  Democratic  demagogues,  some  of 
them  Aldermen  who  would  like  to  see 
the  civil  service  law  swept  away. 
Many  of  the  votes  for  it  when  it  was 
ratified  were  cast  by  workingmen.  As 
a  rule  they  are  still  in  favor  of  it.  But 
there  are  many  walking  delegates  and 
"labor  leaders"  who  would  like  to  get 
on  the  city  pay  rolls  themselves  or 
have  friends  they  would  like  to  see 
there. 

These  men  are  willing  to  do  the 
dirty  work  of  the  Democratic  spoils- 
men and  adopt  resolutions  containing 
statements  they  must  know  are  false, 
and  pledging  the  workingmen  to  an 
anti-civil  service  law  policy  the  latter 
do  not  really  favor. 

Chicago  Times-Herald,  June  29, 
1897 

A  FOOLISH  RESOLUTION 

The  Building  Trades  Council,  with 
the  characteristic  folly  of  such  organi- 
zations when  they  abandon  their 
proper  sphere  to  engage  in  politics, 
denounces  the  civil  service  act  as  "un- 
American,"  and  charges  the  commis- 
sion with  "barring  those  who  have 
had  to  start  early  in  life  to  earn  their 
living  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow" 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 


123 


by  propounding  "abstruse  questions 
of  little  necessity  for  the  positions 
applied  for,  but  easily  answered  by 
college  graduates." 

Chicago  Post,  June  30,  1897 
KRAUS  STANDS  FIRM 

Evidently  Civil  Service  Commis- 
sioner Kraus  considers  that  the  city 
council  can  "resoloot  till  the  cows 
come  home,"  but  it  cannot  make  a 
head  of  a  city  department  out  of  a 
police  captain.  If  he  were  to  admit 
this  without  taking  a  test  case  to  the 
supreme  court  he  and  his  fellow  com- 
missioners might  as  well  fold  up  their 
satchels  and  abandon  the  field  to  the 
horde  of  place-hunters  that  has  been 
hounding  Mayor  Harrison  to  destroy 
the  whole  merit  system.  But  Mr. 
Kraus  is  not  made  of  the  stuff  that 
quits  the  post  of  duty  in  the  face  of 
assaults.  So  long  as  he  is  a  member 
of  the  commission  he  is  determined  to 
defend  his  construction  of  the  civil 
service  law. 

Chicago  Journal,  June  30,  1897 
THE  MAYOR'S  "TOMFOOLERY" 

Mayor  Harrison  characterizes  Com- 
missioner Kraus'  very  sensible  letter 
as  "tomfoolery"  and  "monkey  busi- 
ness." This  is  a  singularly  inappro- 
priate use  of  these  terms.  Mr.  Kraus 
is  using  his  best  endeavors  to  uphold 
the  law.  The  men  who  are  guilty  of 
"tomfollery"  and  "monkey  business" 
are  those  who  are  trying  to  break  it 
down — namely,  Mayor  Harrison  and 
his  ingenious  and  disingenuous  cor- 
poration counsel,  Mr.  Thornton. 

From  the  first  the  disposition  of  the 
latter,  in  particular,  has  been  that  of 
a  lawyer  whose  political  morals  are 
abysmally  low.  The  mayor  has  ap- 
peared to  hold  back  somewhat,  but 
all  the  time  his  sympathies  have  been 
with  the  corporation  counsel  rather 
than  with  the  commission.  This  is  the 
only  interpretation  that  can  be  put 
upon  the  threat  he  has  uttered  from 
week  to  week. 

Yesterday  he  sang  the  same  old 
tune:    "If  the  alleged  friends  of  civil 


service  keep  on  the  way  they  have 
begun  they  will  end  by  knocking  out 
the  civil-service  law  themselves.  They 
are  taking  the  very  course  to  bring 
about  the  defeat  of  civil  service." 

By  this  he  seems  to  mean  that  if 
they  do  not  cease  from  urging  what  is 
right  he  will  join  with  the  council  in 
fighting  them.  He  issues  an  ultima- 
tum saying  that  if  they  do  not  come 
to  his  terms  he  will  wreck  the  law. 

But  how  does  this  comport  with 
his  own  professions  and  promises?  Is 
his  course  to  be  determined  by  pique 
instead  of  by  principle  and  by  ideas? 
Must  he  rush  clear  over  to  the  spoils- 
men because  he  disagrees  with  the 
commission  on  certain  points?  That 
is  the  way  of  the  small  boy,  not  of 
a  man. 

Chicago  Tribune,  July  6,  1897 
LABOR  DEMAGOGUES  AND 
CIVIL  SERVICE 

An  organization  calling  itself  the 
Chicago  Federation  of  Labor  has 
adopted  "amid  shouts  of  approval" 
resolutions  denunciatory  of  the  civil 
service  law  and  of  the  merit  system. 
They  were  offered  by  a  Democrat — 
a  member  of  the  "ruling  race,"  who 
undoubtedly  wants  to  get  a  place  as 
an  inspector  which  pays  better  than 
a  walking  delegateship.  Most  if  not 
all  of  those  who  voted  for  the  resolu- 
tions are  professional  laborites,  who 
would  like  to  get  on  the  city  pay-roll. 
That  is  why  they  were  so  willing  to 
accommodate  the  Democratic  spoils- 
men who  wish  to  see  the  civil  service 
law  swept  away. 

These  imitation  workingmen  an- 
nounce that  they  do  not  want  city 
employes  chosen  by  a  commission 
"in  star-chamber  sessions,"  but  "that 
those  whom  the  common  people 
select  as  their  servants  should  be  the 
judges  in  the  selection  of  employes." 
This  is  a  euphemistic  description  of 
the  rotten  old  spoils  system,  which 
the  political  laborites  would  like  to 
see  restored  in  order  that  they  can 
get  offices  which,  under  the  merit 
system,  they  never  can  get. 

The  federated  labor  demagogues 
declare  that  the  city  "should  for  the 


124 


REMINISCENCES 


amount  of  money  expended  obtain 
the  very  best  service."  They  do  not 
believe  anything  of  the  kind,  or  they 
would  favor  the  merit  system.  What 
they  want  is  to  see  the  municipal 
service  what  it  was,  an  asylum  for 
canting  demagogues,  for  blear-eyed 
loafers,  for  the  offscourings  of  the 
political  slums,  for  those  who  want 
to  be  supported  by  the  labor  of  the 
taxpayers. 

In  short,  the  delegates  to  the  Fed- 
eration of  Labor  want  to  quarter 
themselves  on  the  taxpayers  and  get 
big  pay  for  little  or  no  work.  They 
do  not  represent  the  real  workingmen 
of  this  city,  who  like  the  civil  service 
system  because  it  gives  them  an 
opportunity  to  get  places  without 
having  to  bribe  Aldermen  to  get  their 
influence  or  to  crawl  on  their  bellies 
before  ward  committeemen  and  other 
office-hucksters. 

Chicago  Times-Herald,  July  15, 
1897 

THE  ANTI-MERIT  SYSTEM 
SHOUTERS 

Some  of  the  trades  unions,  or,  to 
be  more  accurate,  certain  members  of 
trades  unions  who  dabble  in  politics, 
have  denounced  the  civil  service  ex- 
aminations as  unfair  to  trained 
mechanics.  The  civil  service  com- 
mission now  "calls  the  bluff."  It  has 
invited  each  union  to  send  an  acredit- 
ed  representative  to  the  examinations, 
who  shall  decide  whether  the  tests  are 
fair  and  just  on  the  following  condi- 
tions: 

If  it  is  decided  that  the  examina- 
tions heretofore  conducted  under 
this  administration  have  been  such 
that  an  ordinary  skilled  laborer  could 
not  answer,  the  commissioners  will 
order  a  new  examination,  and  as  a 
penalty  for  asking  foolish  questions 
will  pay  out  of  their  own  pockets  the 
expense  of  the  new  examination.  If, 
however,  it  is  decided  that  the  ex- 
aminations have  been  fair  and  just, 
then  the  representatives  of  the  unions 
are  to  pass  a  resolution  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  unions  who  heretofore 
passed    resolutions    condemning    the 


methods  of  examination  adopted  by 
the  civil  service  commissioners  either 
did  not  know  what  they  were  talking 
about  or  were  willful  liars. 

We  do  not  know  why  the  commis- 
sion should  issue  such  a  challenge  or 
pay  any  more  attention  to  the  criti- 
cisms of  trades  unions  than  to  the 
unsupported  and  obviously  foolish 
charges  of  other  societies  or  individ- 
uals. The  examinations  are  open  to 
scrutiny  by  everybody;  they  are 
printed  in  the  regular  reports  of  the 
commission.  No  enemy  of  the  merit 
system  has  attempted  to  justify  his 
complaint  by  giving  details.  The 
political  trades  unionist  merely  par- 
rots the  language  of  every  ward 
heeler  who  has  failed  "to  land  his 
job." 

Still,  if  the  commissioners  are  bent 
on  trying  conclusions  with  their  cri- 
tics, perhaps  it  may  be  well  to  do  the 
work  thoroughly.  It  is  barely  pos- 
sible that  there  are  flaws  in  the  sys- 
tem. Indeed,  it  would  be  strange 
if  there  were  not,  for  the  law  has 
been  in  force  less  than  two  years, 
and  a  great  part  of  the  time  has  been 
spent  by  the  men  charged  with  ad- 
ministering it  in  dragging  it  over  ob- 
stacles raised  by  professional  spoils- 
men. But  it  is  safe  to  predict  that  if 
the  trades  unions  accept  the  challenge 
they  will  learn  that  99  per  cent  of  the 
examinations  are  arranged  to  test 
merit,  and  merit  alone. 

Meanwhile  the  commissioners  may 
be  assured  that  they  give  greater 
importance  to  these  assults  than  the 
public  does.  Every  enemy  of  civil 
service  reform  talks  through  a  mega- 
phone, and  there  is  at  least  a  thous- 
and times  as  much  noise  as  substance 
to  the  opposition. 

Chicago  Inter  Ocean,  July  16,  1897 

Good    for    the    Civil-Service    Com- 
mission 

The  city  civil-service  commission 
has  acted  with  great  firmness  and 
prudence  in  two  matters.  It  has 
taught  Mr.  Kipley  that  he  must  con- 
form to  its  rules — and  they  prohibit 
his  contemplated  debauchment  of  the 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 


125 


police  force  to  its  old-time  degradation 
of  a  political  institution.  And  it  has 
put  the  purchased  and  self-constitu- 
ted "leaders  of  labor"  in  a  dilemma 
by  inviting  them  to  attend  the  next 
examination  of  applicants  for  ap- 
pointments as  workmen  in  the  pay  of 
the  city,  with  a  promise  that  if  such 
"leaders"  can  substantiate  their 
false  charge  that  "college  questions" 
are  asked  a  new  examination  with 
easier  questions  will  be  held. 

There  is  no  class  of  men  to  whom 
the  civil  service  is  a  greater  blessing 
than  to  that  which  works  for  days' 
wages.  Under  the  old  system  only 
men  "with  a  pull,"  and  too  often  with 
a  pull  on  disreputable  heelers,  could 
be  employed  by  the  city.  Often 
"friends  of  labor"  taxed  each  fellow 
laborer  whose  appointment  they 
secured  in  sums  varying  from  10  to 
25  per  cent  of  his  pay.  These  are  the 
fellows  who  are  introducing  resolu- 
tions condemnatory  of  the  civil- 
service  law.  Their  old  profits  of  dis- 
honesty are  abrogated  by  it. 

It  is  a  misfortune  that  many  honest 
workmen  have  been  deceived  by  the 
false  representations  of  the  political 
laborers — the  fellows  who  live  by 
plundering  labor  while  professing  to 
love  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  none  but 
simple  questions  are  asked  by  the 
civil-service  commissioners  of  appli- 
cants for  workmen's  places.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  civil-service  sys- 
tem gives  to  every  workman  of 
ordinary  intelligence,  of  good  physi- 
cal condition,  and  of  good  character, 
an  opportunity  of  entering  the  public 
service  without  supplication  of  any 
ward  politician,  and  without  payment 
of  blackmail  to  any  miscalled  "leader 
of  the  labor  element."  The  test  to 
which  the  civil-service  commissioners 
have  invited  the  labor  agitators  will 
be  public;  it  cannot  be  refused  by 
them  without  exposure  of  their  in- 
sincerity, and  it  will  manifest  to  the 
honest  and  intelligent  majority  of 
workmen  the  beneficial  operation  of 
the  new  system. 


Chicago  Record,  August  14,  1897 
President  Kraus'  Good  Work 

People  who  may  have  been  dis- 
posed to  doubt  the  practical  efficiency 
of  the  civil-service  commission  are 
advised  to  take  note  of  the  work  that 
body  is  now  doing  in  investigating 
the  water-office  scandal. 

President  Kraus  deserves  the  pub- 
lic's hearty  thanks  for  the  way  in 
which  he  has  used  his  authority  in 
undertaking  the  task  of  finding  the 
guilty  men  and  bringing  them  to 
justice.  In  one  way  or  another  in- 
vestigations undertaken  by  partisan 
officials  have  failed.  If  the  offender 
in  a  given  case  of  rascality  belongs  to 
the  ruling  administration  or  has  been 
appointed  by  it,  the  tendency  is  to 
gloss  over  his  offense  and  hide  it. 
If  he  belongs  to  the  other  party  his 
prosecution  takes  on  the  character  of 
a  partisan  crusade,  and,  even  when 
honestly  begun,  is  liable  to  miscon- 
struction. The  attempt  of  politicians 
of  one  party  to  punish  politicians  of 
another  party  is  hampered  inevitably 
by  the  suspicions  as  to  the  inspiring 
motives.  There  can  be  no  such  ob- 
jection in  an  investigation  under- 
taken by  a  nonpartisan  commission 
which,  without  loss  of  dignity  or 
prestige,  uses  its  influence  as  it  sees 
best  to  protect  the  public  from  the 
evils  of  corruption. 

President  Kraus  has  gone  about 
this  task  with  a  vim  and  energy  high- 
ly promising  of  satisfactory  results. 
The  public  will  applaud  and  stand  by 
him  in  every  move  he  makes  to  carry 
on  the  fight  and  secure  the  punish- 
ment of  the  thieves.  If  his  effort  is 
successful,  he  will  have  done  a  great 
deal  to  prove  that  the  civil-service 
commission,  entirely  apart  from  its 
work  in  protecting  good  public  offi- 
cials, may  be  an  immensely  potent 
factor  in  deterring  the  operations  of 
corruptionists  and  dishonest  officials. 
The  men  who  stole  and  altered 
specifications  for  public  works  and 
the  men  who  swindled  the  city  out 
of  tax  money  should  be  made  to 
furnish  a  wholesome  example. 


126 


REMINISCENCES 


Chicago  Record,  August  17,  1897 

President  Kraus  announced  that 
the  civil-service  commission  has  only 
begun  to  get  its  pipes  laid  to  reach  the 
roots  of  corruption  in  the  city  hall, 
and  that  there  is  an  investigation 
about  to  begin  wider  and  deeper  than 
anything  the  city  hall  has  yet 
witnessed. 

This  inquiry  will  be  made  by  the 
commission  upon  its  own  motion 
without  waiting  for  any  one  to  take 
the  initiative,  as  has  been  the  custom 
hitherto,  Mr.  Kraus  says,  and  officials 
who  went  out  of  public  service  with 
mire  on  their  heels  may  expect  that 
their  deeds  will  all  be  shown  up  be- 
fore the  end  is  reached. 

"We  have  found  all  sorts  of  evi- 
dence of  fraud  and  plunder  and  mis- 
management in  the  conduct  of  the 
city's  business  wherever  we  have 
been  invited  to  make  an  investiga- 
tion," said  Mr.  Kraus,  and  the 
conviction  has  grown  upon  us  that  a 
lot  of  these  matters  which  rightly  did 
not  enter  into  the  inquiries  we  had  on 
would  bear  a  closer  individual  scru- 
tiny. As  the  evidences  against  offi- 
cials and  underlings  began  to  multi- 
ply, this  was  found  to  be  absolutely 
necessary. 

In  the  Water  Department 
"This  free  for-all  harpooning  of 
miscreants  will  not  be  delayed  a 
single  day  longer  than  is  necessary  to 
dispose  of  the  present  work  of  sup- 
planting old  employes  with  the  men 
from  among  the  civil-service  eligibles, 
and  that  means  within  a  week  or  two. 
There  will  be  some  surprises  upon  the 
part  of  men  who  thought  they  had 
covered  up  their  tracks  beyond  sus- 
picion. 

"The  water  department  will  be  the 
storm  center,  and  the  sub-bureaus, 
like  water-extension  and  water  meters 
and  water  collections,  will  all  be 
turned  upside  down  " 


Chicago,  III.,  Chronical 
August  28,  1897 

KRAUS   PASSES  ON  COOKS 


Civil  Service  Board  President  Has 
a  Novel  Experience 


He  Examines  a  Host  of  applicants 
for  Police  Station  Service 


Succinct  Knowledge  of  Food  Prepa- 
ration is  Evinced  in  His  Questions 


Many  Janitors  Who  Aspire  to    Be 
Chefs  Go  Through  a  Trying  Ordeal 


Within  the  last  few  days  the  follow- 
ing announcement  was  bulletined  at 
the  rooms  of  the  civil  service  com- 
missioners: 

"Wanted — A  janitor  who  can 
cook." 

Adolf  Kraus,  attorney,  president 
of  the  civil  service  board,  public 
speaker,  scholar  and  lecturer,  added 
another  to  his  list  of  accomplish- 
ments and  last  night  he  was  heralded 
as  the  greatest  cook  connected  with 
Mayor  Harrison's  administration. 
He  conducted  what  amounted  to  a 
cooking  school  yesterday,  was  emin- 
ently successful  in  doing  it  and  has 
secured  for  the  police  department  a 
roster  of  first-class  janitors  who  are 
also  first-class  cooks. 

Mr.  Kraus'  secret  leaked  out  in  a 
peculiar  manner,  but  when  it  was 
discovered  he  stood  up  bravely  under 
the  charge  that  he  was  a  cook  as  well 
as  a  lawyer  and  offered  to  sacrifice 
himself  and  conduct  the  examination. 
Some  time  ago  Chief  Kipley  asked  the 
commission  for  a  cook  for  the  Harri- 
son Street  police  station.  He  was  in- 
formed that  the  commission  had  no 
cooks  on  its  list,  but  would  a  janitor 
do? 

Double  Duty  for  Janitors 

The  commission  said  it  could  fur- 
nish any  number  of  janitors.  Chief 
Kipley  said  a  janitor  would  not  do 
and  asked  permission  to  name  the 
cook  himself  from  the  crowd  of  politi- 
cal friends  clamoring  for  recognition. 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 


127 


The  commission  refused  the  proposi- 
tion, but  volunteered  to  find  a  com- 
petent cook  in  the  list  of  janitors.  All 
of  the  men  on  the  list  eligible  for 
appointment  as  janitors  were  called 
in  and  told  to  be  ready  yesterday  to 
take  an  examination  in  the  art  of 
food  preparation. 

Accordingly  the  examination  was 
held  President  Kraus  confided  to  his 
intimate  friends  that  the  wearied  look 
in  his  face  came  from  an  all-night 
session  with  the  cook  at  his  own  home, 
from  whom  he  had  tried  to  get 
enough  practical  ideas  to  fortify  him- 
self for  the  encounter  with  the  janitors 
who  aspired  to  be  police  station  chefs. 

The  examination  was  naturally 
amusing.  The  candidates  looking  for 
jobs  were  no  more  embarrassed  or 
frightened  than  the  dignified  attorney 
who  catechized  them.  Mr.  Kraus 
helped  many  a  candidate  over  a  hard 
question  by  asking  it  in  a  way  that 
answered  it,  because  he  was  afraid  he 
had  not  stated  it  as  plainly  as  might 
be  desired  by  the  cook. 

Candidates  Answer  Queries 

One  candidate,  a  colored  man,  is 
reported  to  have  stood  the  ordeal  as 
follows: 

"How  would  you  prepare  boiled 
potatoes  with  the  skins  on?"  asked 
the  examiner. 

"Well,  sah,  I'd  take  them  potatoes, 
with  the  skins  on,  did  you  say'?  Well 
I'd  take  'em  and  I'd  put  'em  in  a  pot 
an'  I'd  just — I'd  just — boil  'em,  sah; 
that's  what  I'd  do." 

"Is  it  best  to  boil  them  in  hot  or 
cold  water?  Should  the  water  be  hot 
or  cold  to  start  with?" 

"Well,  sah,  that's  jest  as  you  like 
it.  Some  folks  likes  'em  one  way  and 
some  likes  'em  another." 

"What  kind  of  water  makes  the 
potatoes  blue  sometimes?" 

"Well,  sah,  sometimes  one  kind 
and  sometimes  anothah  kind  does 
dat.  Yeh  cain't  always  tell  about  dat, 
sah." 

"How  would  you  prepare  beef 
broth?" 

"Beef  broth?  Well,  sah,  I'd  git  the 
beef  fust,  cause  dat's  de  most  import- 
antest  thing  aboot  it  all.  Den  I'd  take 


a  pot  o'  watah  and  den  jist  prepah  it, 
sah,  dat's  all." 

"How  much  coffee  would  be  re- 
quired to  furnish  six  cups  of  such 
liquid?" 

"Well,  sah,  dat  depends  on  whose 
coffee  it  is.  Out  to  mah  house  it 
wouldn't  tek  much,  sah,  but  ohdin- 
ahily  it'd  tek  about  a  cup  and  a  half." 

"What,  for  six  people?" 

"Oh,  six?  I  thought  you  all  said 
sixty.  Foh  six  people  I'd  only  tek 
one  cupful." 

Many  Men  Are  Examined 

There  were  more  such  answers  as 
these  and  President  Kraus  ran 
through  a  list  of  sixty  or  seventy- 
five  candidates  with  about  the  same 
results.  Some  of  them  said  the  best 
way  to  boil  potatoes  with  the  jackets 
on  was  to  put  salt  in  the  kettle,  and 
one  applicant  said  the  best  coffee 
could  be  obtained  by  making  it  one 
night  and  letting  it  stand  to  be 
warmed  over  the  next  morning.  But 
he  assured  the  examiner  he  could 
make  "a  plain  meal  good  enough  for 
you  or  any  other  person,  Mr.  Kraus." 

Many  men  in  the  list  claimed  to 
have  been  cooks  in  Chicago  hotels,  on 
Pullman  and  Wagner  cars,  in  hunting 
and  fishing  camps  and  elsewhere. 
Mr.  Kraus  marked  each  candidate 
as  he  concluded  his  examination  and 
at  2  o'clock  was  so  completely  ex- 
hausted with  the  work  that  he  had  to 
retire  to  his  home  to  rest  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  day.  The  successful 
candidate  on  the  list  will  be  chosen 
this  week  and  will  be  given  the 
position  of  "janitor  and  cook"  at  the 
Harrison  street  station. 

Chicago  Post,  August  28,  1897 
KRAUS  SORE  PERPLEXED 


Head  of  Civil  Service  Board  Has  Pro- 
cession of  Troubles 

Adolf  Kraus  was  on  the  point  of 
tendering  his  resignation  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  civil  service  commission  to- 
day. The  day  proved  to  be  one  suc- 
cession of  troubles  for  him  and  he 
grew  weary  and  was  sorely  perplexed. 


128 


REMINISCENCES 


At  the  outset  he  was  disturbed  by 
the  appearance  of  the  names  of 
"Cooney  the  Fox"  with  the  hand- 
some average  of  95  on  the  eligible  list 
of  brick  masons.  "Cooney"  figured 
prominently  as  a  hypothetical  pro- 
position in  the  Cronin  case,  but  was 
able  to  avoid  entering  a  personal 
appearance  at  the  trial  of  the  others 
indicted  for  the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin. 
Mr.  Kraus,  however,  dislikes  the 
odor  of  scandal  no  less  than  the  real 
thing.  Inquiry  developed  the  fact 
that  "Cooney"  lives  at  101  Huron 
street,  and  is  now  and  has  been  for 
some  time  working  for  the  city,  and, 
what  is  more  to  the  point  in  his  case, 
he  is  a  good  mason. 

This  matter  had  scarcely  been  dis- 
posed of  before  Mr.  Kraus  was  called 
to  the  telephone  by  the  head  of  the 
ancient  and  honorable  body  of  high 
cooks,  who  proceeded  to  call  him  to 
account  for  the  manner  in  which  he 
conducted  the  examination  of  janitor- 
cooks  yesterday.  He  resented  the 
aspersions  cast  upon  his  knowledge 
of  the  duties  of  cooks.  For  a  short 
time  the  wires  sizzled  with  the  heat  of 
argument.  In  the  end  Mr.  Kraus 
offered  to  meet  the  champion  of  the 
culinary  art  and  apprentice  him  as  a 
cook. 

At  this  point  in  the  progress  of  his 
official  duties  the  head  of  the  com- 
mission was  informed  that  he  had 
been  hoodwinked  and  beaten  at  his 
own  game  by  the  democratic  par- 
tisans and  members  of  the  Star 
League,  who  have  been  the  cause  of 
much  trouble  and  a  great  deal  of 
anxiety  to  the  commission.  He  had 
contributed  a  $12  gold-headed  um- 
brella to  the  prize  list  for  the  demo- 
cratic picnic  to-day,  and  was  cha- 
grined to  know  that  it  was  offered  in 
a  contest  between  sixty-day  men. 

This  was  the  last  straw. 

Chicago  III.,  Inter  Ocean, 
August  29,  1897 

Delegates  from  the  labor  organiza- 
tion known  as  the  Cooks'  union 
waited  on  President  Kraus  yesterday 
morning  and  complained  that  he  had 
violated  the  provisions  of  the  civil- 


service  law  in  examining  janitors  to 
act  as  cooks  in  police  stations  without 
giving  the  usual  two  weeks'  notice 
that  the  examination  was  to  be  held 
President  Kraus  declares  the  law  was 
not  violated,  as  the  men  examined  had 
already  passed  the  examination  for 
janitors,  and  no  new  applicants  were 
allowed  to  enter.  If  it  had  been  a 
new  examination  the  usual  two  weeks' 
notice  would  have  been  required. 

Chicago  Tribune,  September  2, 1897 
POLICE  GUARD  KRAUS'  OFFICE 


Discharged  Employes  from  the  Water 

Pipe  Extension  Department  Make 

Threats  and  Are  Ousted 

President  Kraus  of  the  Civil  Ser- 
vice commission  had  to  send  for  the 
police  yesterday  to  guard  his  rooms. 
Early  in  the  day  they  were  invaded 
by  forty  laborers  in  the  water  pipe 
extension  department,  who  had  just 
been  discharged  to  make  room  for 
civil  service  appointees.  They  had 
called  on  the  cashier  in  the  water 
office  for  the  money  due  them,  and 
had  been  told  it  was  not  there  because 
the  Civil  Service  commission  was 
keeping  the  pay-rolls  back. 

Then  they  invaded  the  rooms  of 
the  commission.  They  blamed  that 
body  anyhow  for  their  discharge,  and 
were  not  in  too  amiable  a  frame  of 
mind. 

President  Kraus  told  them  the 
pay-rolls  were  not  there,  but  they 
would  not  believe  him,  and  threats 
were  made,  and  trouble  seemed  im- 
minent until  the  police  were  sent  for. 
They  cleared  the  room. 

The  secretary  of  the  commission 
then  took  the  men  back  to  the  water 
office,  and  the  cashier  was  forced  to 
acknowledge  he  had  not  sent  the 
pay-rolls  to  the  commission.  It  has 
become  a  common  thing  around  the 
City  Hall  for  subofficials  to  unload 
the  blame  for  all  things  on  the  Civil 
Service  commission,  in  the  hope  of 
making  it  unpopular. 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 


129 


Chicago  Record,  September  3,  1897 
Merit  System  and  the  School  Board 

At  Wednesday  night's  session  of 
the  board  of  education  a  letter  from 
President  Kraus  of  the  civil-service 
commission,  asking  that  the  employes 
of  the  board  be  placed  under  the 
merit  system  in  accordance  with  the 
civil-service  law,  was  received  in  ex- 
actly the  same  spirit  with  which 
similar  propositions  have  been  met 
by  the  "gang"  element  in  the  city 
council.  It  was  laughed  at  and  sent 
to  a  committee,  presumably  to  be 
shelved  there  indefinitely. 

Until  the  members  of  the  board  who 
prompted  this  course  can  show  that 
their  action  was  instigated  by  some- 
thing else  than  the  professional  poli- 
tician's habitual  yearning  to  ladle 
out  patronage  they  must  expect  to 
be  classed   by   disinterested   citizens 


with  the  regular  office  peddlers  of  the 
city  hall.  There  is  abundant  reason 
to  believe  with  President  Kraus  that 
the  civil-service  law  legally  covers  the 
positions  which  are  at  present  open 
for  free  use  in  the  barter  and  sale  of 
politics.  In  any  event,  supposing 
even  that  this  point  were  in  doubt, 
the  school  board  if  honestly  desirous 
of  forwarding  the  merit  system 
would  have  been  disposed  to  help  the 
civil-service  commission  and  work 
with  it,  instead  of  meeting  its  efforts 
at  once  with  opposition  and  ridicule. 
The  public  will  stand  by  the  presi- 
dent of  the  commission  in  all  that  he 
does  toward  testing  the  availability 
of  the  merit  law  as  regards  employes 
of  the  board  of  education.  It  will 
applaud  him  heartily  if  on  finding 
that  the  law  is  on  his  side  he  compels 
the  board  to  obey  it  and  secures  the 
punishment  of  those  who  seek  to 
stand  in  its  way. 


The  Courts  sustained  Kraus. 


Chicago  Journal,  September  8, 1897 

THE  CIVIL-SERVICE  CRISIS 

If  Chairman  Kraus  is  forced  from 
the  civil-service  commission  the  act 
will  admit  of  but  one  construction. 
All  the  explanations  of  democratic 
politicians  can  not  suffice  to  sustain 
the  distinction  they  are  trying  to  make 
between  the  man  and  the  principle. 
The  man  is  the  principle,  just  as  his 
predecessor  was.  He  is  objectionable 
on  that  account,  just  as  his  predecess- 
or was.  In  spite  of  persistent  dis- 
claimers, it  was  evident  when  the 
original  changes  in  the  commission 
were  made  that  the  purpose  was  to 
permit  of  greater  latitude  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  law,  and  the  hostility 
toward  Mr.  Kraus  demonstrates  how 
well-founded  the  suspicions  excited 
at  that  time  were.  The  "workers" 
want  in  his  position  no  man  who  will 
do  his  duty. 

The  opposition  is  personified  in  an 
individual  who  is  a  perfect  illustra- 
tion of  its  character  and  its  aims. 
While  the  great  majority  of  the  voters 
of  Chicago  have  been  earning  a  living 


by  productive  labor  this  man  has 
taken  his  chances  at  organizing  ward 
meetings,  looking  after  primaries  and 
political  picnics,  promising  jobs  to 
hangers-on,  seeing  the  boys,  etc.  A 
more  useless  member  of  society  it 
would  be  difficult  to  imagine.  His 
hope  has  always  been  that  some  turn 
of  the  wheel  would  procure  him  a 
sinecure,  and  a  sinecure  he  now  has. 
Today  he  is  in  receipt  of  a  large  in- 
come for  which  he  does  absolutely 
nothing. 

All  his  energies  are  devoted  to  the 
perpetuation  of  a  political  machine 
from  which  he  and  his  friends  may 
derive  more  rewards  in  the  future. 
He  is  busy  enough  and  too  busy,  but 
it  is  solely  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
off  the  spoils.  Whatever  his  objec- 
tions may  be  to  Mr.  Kraus  personally, 
we  may  be  sure  that  a  deep  and  un- 
dying hatred  of  civil-service  reform  is 
as  natural  to  him  as  the  air  he 
breathes. 

And  so  it  is  with  the  whole  class  to 
which  he  belongs.  These  spoilsmen 
demand  that  the  mayor  shall  make 
a  farce  of  the  law  for  their  dear  sake. 


130 


REMINISCENCES 


They  tell  him  that  if  he  does  not  he 
will  mortally  offend  all  the  democrats 
of  Chicago.  But  how  many  democrats 
are  there  in  Chicago  who  belong  to 
their  devoted  band,  or  who  depend, 
or  would  like  to  depend,  upon  politics 
for  a  living?  Five  or  six  thousand, 
perhaps,  and  this  in  a  voting  popula- 
tion of  360,000.  The  average  demo- 
crat cares  no  more  for  them  or  their 
fate  than  he  does  for  the  same  kind 
of  gentry  in  the  other  party.  The 
politics  of  the  minor  employes  about 
the  city  hall  or  any  other  public 
building  is  a  matter  of  complete  in- 
difference to  him.  He  is,  we  may  be 
sure,  on  the  side  of  Commissioner 
Kraus,  and  against  the  holder  of  the 
sinecure  and  the  impertinent  jacka- 
napes whose  gabble  has  brought 
matters  to  an  issue. 

Chicago  Post,  September  8,  1897 

MAYOR  HARRISON  AND  MERIT 

SYSTEM 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  Mayor 
Harrison's  toleration  of  the  unseemly 
war  being  waged  on  the  civil  service 
commission  by  the  base  pack  of  poli- 
ticians who  infest  the  city  hall.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  these  votaries  of  the 
spoils  system,  these  insatiate  party 
leaches,  have  swarmed  about  the 
city  departments  clamoring  for  jobs 
and  demanding  the  abrogation  of  the 
merit  system,  that  they  might  gorge 
at  the  public  crib.  They  have  not 
hesitated  to  ask  the  mayor  to  violate 
his  oath  of  office  in  order  to  break 
down  the  barriers  between  them  and 
the  pay  rolls.  In  answer  to  their 
clamor  that  the  merit  system  was  in 
the  hands  of  their  political  opponents 
Mayor  Harrison  removed  Commis- 
sioners Clark  and  Hotz.  They  de- 
manded Secretary  Phelps'  scalp  and 
they  got  it. 

Just  as  far  as  Mayor  Harrison 
could  legally  go  in  reconstructing  the 
merit  system  to  satisfy  the  greed  of 
spoilsmen  he  went.  He  appointed  a 
new  commission  consisting  of  two 
democrats,  personal  friends  of  his 
own,  and  a  republican  who  had  no 
"fanatical  ideas  of  reform"  to  stand 
in  the  way  of  administering  the  civil 


service  law  with  democratic  laxity. 
More  than  this  Mayor  Harrison 
could  not  do,  even  if  the  office 
grabbers  howled  and  his  corporation 
counsel  fulminated  against  the  law. 
There  the  law  stood — something  he 
could  not  overlook  or  nullify  if  he 
would,  and  to  his  credit,  be  it  said, 
he  has  shown  no  disposition  to  do  so. 

On  the  contrary,  Mayor  Harri- 
sons' appointment  of  Commissioners 
Kraus  and  Winston,  two  democrats 
in  close  affiliation  with  his  own  politi- 
cal family,  has  been  taken  as  a 
guaranty  that  he  cherished  no 
thought  of  violating  the  strict  letter 
of  the  law.  Through  them  he  mere- 
ly sought  to  have  the  law  inter- 
preted by  commissioners  not  inimical 
to  the  democratic  party.  This  he 
had  a  right  to  expect.  But  from 
Messrs.  Kraus  and  Winston  he  could 
expect  no  more.  Mr.  Kraus  especially 
is  not  the  kind  of  a  public  official 
whose  interpretation  of  official  duty 
can  be  bent  to  suit  partisan  ends. 
He  and  his  associates  have  sought  to 
administer  the  merit  system  accord- 
ing to  the  law.  This  being  clear  and 
definite  in  its  provisions,  their  regu- 
lations and  proceedings  under  it 
have  not  differed  in  any  essential 
feature  from  those  of  their  prede- 
cessors. 

This  naturally  enraged  the  expect- 
ant job  hunters,  whose  real  grievance 
was  not  against  a  particular  enforce- 
ment of  the  merit  system,  but  against 
any  rule  or  regulation  whatever  that 
excluded  them  from  the  pay  rolls. 
They  have  therefore  renewed  their 
assaults  upon  the  civil  service  com- 
missioners, utterly  unmindful. 

Chicago  Tribune,  September  9, 1897 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 
COMMISSION 

The  Burkes,  Thorntons,  and  other 
Democratic  spoils  politicians  are  us- 
ing all  their  powers  of  persuasion  with 
the  Mayor  to  get  him  to  reorganize 
the  Civil  Service  commission  so  that 
it  will  be  obedient  to  them  and  allow 
the  law  under  which  it  acts  to  be  set 
at  naught. 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 


131 


The  independence  which  has  been 
displayed  by  Mr.  Kraus  and  his 
colleagues  has  infuriated  those  pro- 
fessional politicians.  Nevertheless, 
Mr.  Kraus  is  not  going  to  hand  in  his 
resignation  and  it  does  not  look  as  if 
the  Mayor  was  going  to  ask  him  to 
do  so  or  hint  at  his  willingness  to 
accept  a  resignation.  Undoubtedly 
the  Mayor  would  like  to  oblige  Burke 
and  the  other  Democrats  who  are 
insisting  that  civil  service  will  be  the 
death  of  the  party.  But  he  knows 
that  interferences  with  a  commission 
which  is  simply  discharging  its  duty 
will  create  much  greater  disturbance 
than  will  be  caused  by  a  refusal  to 
comply  with  Burke's  demands. 


Chicago,  III.,  Inter  Ocean, 
September  20,  1897 

KRAUS  SPEAKS  HIS  MIND 


Denounces    Brennock    in    Scathing 
Terms  for  His  Language 

President  Kraus  of  the  civil-service 
commission,  when  seen  last  night  at 
his  residence,  No.  4518  Drexel  boule- 
vard, seemed  much  surprised  when 
informed  that  the  Chicago  Federa- 
tion of  Labor  had  indorsed  the  resolu- 
tions criticising  the  commission  for 
its  alleged  action  in  connection  with 
the  Maxwell  strike,  and  evinced  some 
warmth  when  Delegate  Brennock's 
remarks  were  repeated  to  him. 

"Any  man  who  will  get  up  in  a 
meeting  and  make  such  a  speech  as 
that  and  introduce  such  a  resolution 
under  the  existing  circumstances  is 
simply  a  dirty  dog,"  he  remarked 
deliberately. 

"I  don't  know  who  this  man  Bren- 
nock is,  but  if  he  reads  the  news- 
papers he  must  know  that  the  com- 
mission has  not  done  what  he  charges. 
It  is  a  willful  lie  for  any  one  to  say 
that  the  commission  interfered  in  any 
way  in  the  Maxwell  strike,  for  im- 
mediately upon  receipt  of  the  request 
from  Maxwell  Bros,  for  1,000  of  the 
civil-service  men,  the  request  was 
flatly  refused  on  the  ground  that  the 
commission  had  no  right  to  interfere 
in  any  strike  in  that  way. 


"I  stated  that  while  I  would  be 
glad  to  help  those  who  had  no  work 
to  obtain  it  in  new  fields  of  labor,  I 
would  under  no  circumstances  permit 
the  civil-service  commission  to  be 
used  as  a  weapon  by  any  one  in  a 
strike.  Every  paper  in  Chicago  pub- 
lished this  statement,  and  when  in 
the  face  of  that  fact  men  can  be 
found  who  will  manufacture  lies  out 
of  whole  cloth  and  who  can  influence 
honest  laborers,  be  they  ever  so  few, 
to  believe  these  fabrications  and  in- 
duce labor  unions  to  commit  them- 
selves to  false  and  scandalous  charges, 
they  simply  injure  the  cause  of  labor 
and  no  one  else. 

"This  is  to  be  regretted,  because 
the  cause  of  labor  is  entitled  to,  and 
ought  to  receive,  the  sympathy  and 
good  will  of  every  one.  It  would,  in 
my  estimation,  be  a  good  thing  for 
honest  workmen  to  get  rid  of  such 
men  as  this  Brennock  seems  to  be." 

Mr.  Kraus  also  denied  in  the  most 
emphatic  terms  that  he  had  ever 
"insulted"  any  representatives  of  the 
labor  unions. 


Chicago  News,  September  21,  1897 
Unwise  Friends  of  Labor 

Some  days  ago  Maxwell  Bros,  of 
this  city  requested  the  civil-service 
commissioners  to  supply  them  with 
a  number  of  laborers  from  the  official 
list  of  eligibles.  The  commissioners 
prudently  inquired  whether  or  not 
the  workmen  of  Maxwell  Bros,  were 
on  a  strike.  Mr.  Maxwell  replied 
that  there  was  a  strike.  Thereupon 
the  commissioners  unanimously  de- 
cided that  they  would  not  permit 
their  office  to  be  used  for  any  such 
purpose,  and  directed  the  commis- 
sion's clerks  in  case  Maxwell  Bros, 
should  apply  for  the  addresses  of 
laborers  on  the  eligible  list  not  to 
furnish  them.  They  further  declared 
that  they  would  be  pleased  to  help  the 
unemployed  on  their  list  to  obtain 
work  in  any  new  fields  of  labor,  but 
would  under  no  circumstances  send 
men  to  take  the  place  of  strikers,  as 
the  law  did  not  charge  them  with  any 
such  duty.    This  action  of  the  com- 


132 


REMINISCENCES 


mission  was  published  in  the  news- 
papers. 

Thereupon  the  Building  Trades 
council  adopted  resolutions  setting 
forth  that  the  commissioners  offered 
to  send  laborers  to  Maxwell  Bros,  to 
take  the  place  of  strikers,  and  con- 
demned the  chairman  of  the  commis- 
sion for  such  alleged  interference. 
This  action  of  the  council  is  worse 
than  foolish.  No  cause  can  prosper 
when  it  adopts  falsehood  as  its  foun- 
dation stone.  All  well-meaning  citi- 
zens will  gladly  support  every  legiti- 
mate effort  to  aid  the  cause  of  labor. 
That  cause,  however,  can  only  be  in- 
jured and  in  no  way  benefited  by  its 
unwise  friends  (?)  who  introduce  and 
carry  resolutions  based  on  a  tissue  of 
falsehoods. 

If  the  council  acted  on  misstate- 
ments made  by  the  disappointed 
office- seekers  who  have  shown  such 
venomous  animosity  to  the  civil- 
service  commission  of  late,  without 
making  proper  inquiry  as  to  the  facts, 
it  showed  an  unreasoning  and  un- 
justifiable readiness  to  take  up  any 
charge  against  a  body  whose  services 
are  of  vital  value  to  all  citizens  and 
whose  conduct  has  not  been  of  a 
character  to  justify  the  adoption  of 
such  resolutions  without  careful  in- 
vestigation and  ample  verification 
of  the  charges. 

Chicago  Post,  September  23,  1897 

NAGGING    AT    COMMISSIONER 

KRAUS 

Whether  Chairman  Kraus  will  be 
nagged  out  of  the  civil  service  com- 
mission is  a  question  that  all  depends 
on  Mr.  Kraus'  endurance  of  nagging. 
How  long  he  can  stand  the  persistent 
irritation  of  petty  malice  and  adverse 
sentiment  that  prevails  in  the  city 
hall  remains  to  be  seen.  He  is  well 
armed  with  a  courageous  resolve  to 
uphold  the  spirit  of  the  civil  service 
law,  and  possesses  the  strong  virile 
nature  that  hardens  before  opposition 
and  difficulties. 

But  it  is  not  surer  that  dropping 
water  will  wear  away  stone  than  that 
constant  nagging  will  eventually  irri- 
tate and  finally  overcome  the  strong- 


est nature.  There  would  be  more 
hope  that  Mr.  Kraus  would  tri- 
umphantly survive  the  ordeal  to 
which  he  is  exposed  were  his  virtues 
of  a  more  pliable  character.  He  has 
not  enough  of  the  cheerfulness  under 
fire  that  is  such  a  relief  to  the  strain 
on  weaker  men.  He  stands  up  to  the 
rack  for  the  merit  system  boldly  and 
fearlessly  and  lets  the  waves  of 
hostile  criticism  break  over  his  head 
as  if  he  positively  enjoyed  it. 

This  would  be  all  very  well  if  Mr. 
Kraus  were  certain  of  the  sympathy 
and,  in  the  crucial  hour,  of  the 
friendship  of  Mayor  Harrison.  But 
the  mayor  refuses  to  turn  his  hand 
to  relieve  the  civil  service  commission 
of  the  political  pressure  that  closes 
about  it  like  the  folds  of  a  deadly 
serpent.  In  the  struggle  between  Mr. 
Kraus  and  a  contumacious  secretary 
of  the  commissioner  of  public  works 
the  mayor  preserves  an  exasperating 
neutrality  that  brings  the  entire 
discipline  of  his  administration  into 
contempt.  If  he  had  a  proper  regard 
for  the  dignity  and  efficiency  of  the 
civil  service  commission  Mayor  Harri- 
son would  break  Mr.  Lutzenkirchen's 
silence  or  break  his  official  neck. 

It  is  scandalous  that  both  the 
mayor  and  the  commissioner  of  public 
works  should  permit  a  cheap  subor- 
dinate to  cause  an  amount  of  friction 
that  threatens  the  usefulness  of  a 
system  involving  the  best  hopes  of 
civic  government. 

Chicago,  III.,  Inter  Ocean, 

October  7,  1897 

Municipal  Civil  Service 

Mr.  Edwin  Burritt  Smith  delivered 
an  address  yesterday  before  the  social 
economic  conference  on  city  govern- 
ment, which  contained  some  points  of 
great  interest.  But  the  one  point  of 
especial  interest  relates  to  the  civil- 
service  situation  in  Chicago,  which 
Mr.  Smith  correctly  characterized  as 
critical  and  of  special  interest. 

Chicago  made  an  auspicious  start 
in  the  way  of  civil-service  reform 
applied  to  muncipal  government,  and 
is  in  no  small  danger  of  a  breakdown. 
As  Mr.  Smith  says,  Mayor  Harrison 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE 


133 


was  elected  as  a  spoilsman,  and  he 
regards  the  civil-service  board  as 
owing  direct  obligation  to  him,  per- 
sonally and  politically.  The  Smith 
idea  is  that  the  commission  should 
no  more  be  part  and  parcel  of  the 
city  administration,  politically  speak- 
ing, than  the  Supreme  court  of  the 
United  States  is  an  element  in  the 
administration  of  the  President;  the 
Harrison  idea  is  that  two  of  the  three 
commissioners  should  belong  to  the 
mayor's  cabinet. 

The  extent  to  which  Mr.  Harrison 
will  carry  his  theory  is  still  uncertain. 
His  policy  has  been  seriously  hindered 
in  bringing  forth  its  normal  fruit  by 
the  strong  personality  of  Commis- 
sioner Kraus,  who  is  entitled  to  the 
credit  of  being  a  sincere  friend  of  the 
law.  He  had  never  shown  any  special 
interest  in  the  reform,  so  far  as  we 
know.  He  was  not  a  professional  re- 
former, certainly.  But  he  is  an  honor- 
able man  who,  if  he  undertook  any 
obligation,  would  discharge  it  con- 
scientiously. Having  undertaken  to 
act  as  president  of  the  civil-service 


board  of  Chicago  he  was  true  to  the 
duties  of  the  position.  How  it  will  all 
come  out  is  still  problematic.  If  he 
succeeds  in  keeping  the  wolves  out 
of  the  sheepfold  during  the  entire 
Harrison  term  of  office  he  will  do  a 
great  service  to  the  public. 

The  critical  period  in  Chicago  civil- 
service  reform  is  likely  to  continue, 
and  perhaps  become  more  and  more 
critical  as  time  advances,  until  after 
we  have  had  at  least  one  more  election 
for  mayor. 

The  address  of  Mr.  Smith  was  still 
more  noticeable  for  what  it  did  not 
say.  He  failed  to  inform  the  confer- 
ence that  the  candidate  for  mayor 
who  openly  and  unblushingly  catered 
to  the  spoils  element  for  support  owed 
his  election  to  the  refusal  of  the  very 
men  who  talked  the  loudest  for  re- 
form to  support  the  candidate  who 
stood  squarely  for  the  law,  diverting 
their  votes  to  a  candidate  who  at  no 
time  had  the  remotest  chance  of 
election.  Perhaps  he  was  too  modest 
to  indulge  in  anything  bordering  on 
autobiography. 


One  day  a  certain  John  B.  Clarke,  who  held  the 
position  of  Corporation  Inspector,  under  a  previous 
administration,  came  to  inquire  when  an  examination 
for  Corporation  Inspectors  would  he  held.  The  Com- 
missioner then  on  duty  in  the  office  was  Mr.  Winston, 
who  said  that  the  office  of  Corporation  Inspector  was 
among  the  last  for  which  examinations  would  be  held. 
Clarke  became  angry  and  so  insulting  that  Mr.  Winston 
was  obliged  to  call  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  ante 
room  and  order  him  to  remove  Clarke  from  the  office. 

About  the  same  time  the  Board  had  considerable 
trouble  with  one  Lutzenkerchin,  who  held  an  important 
office  in  the  city  administration,  had  considerable 
political  pull,  and  was  a  favorite  of  the  Mayor.  The 
Board  cited  him  before  it  to  answer  certain  questions, 
which  he  refused  to  do.     A  bill  was  filed  by  the  Com- 


134  REMINISCENCES 

missioners  in  the  Circuit  Court  to  compel  Lutzenker- 
chen  to  answer.  The  papers  gave  the  proceedings 
considerable  publicity  and  predicted  that  the  Mayor 
would  ask  for  my  resignation,  which  he  was  being  urged 
to  do  by  politicians  who  were  unable  to  secure  for  their 
henchmen  the  customary  political  jobs.  The  news- 
papers lined  up  on  the  side  of  the  controversy  that  was 
favorable  to  me,  and  urged  my  retention  in  the  office. 
I  realized  that  the  Mayor  was  in  an  embarrassing 
position;  on  one  side  the  Democratic  bosses,  who  were 
of  course  powerful  politically,  were  clamoring  for  my 
resignation ;  on  the  other  side  was  the  press,  his  personal 
friendship  for  me  and  close  and  friendly  relationship 
which  had  so  long  existed  between  his  father  and  myself. 
The  Mayor  had  not  taken  a  positive  position  in  favor 
of  the  Commission,  and  the  hope  I  once  had  of  his 
political  preferment  through  his  inauguration  and  en- 
forcement of  a  great  reform  measure  had  quite  faded 
away.  So  I  went  to  the  Mayor  and  said:  ''I  have 
tried  my  best  to  make  your  administration  a  success. 
I  fear  that  my  holding  the  position  longer  is  a  useless 
sacrifice  on  my  part.  I  want  to  resign,  but  am  willing 
to  continue  if  you  think  it  is  to  your  advantage  to  do  so. 
Mr.  Harrison  answered,  "I  have  not  asked  for  your 
resignation  and  have  no  intention  of  doing  so,  but  if 
you  wish  to  resign  it  may  possibly  relieve  the  situation." 
"Very  well,"  I  said,  "I  resign  now."  This  was  on 
February  17,  1898,  and  on  February  18th  the  Mayor 
appointed  Mr.  Robert  Lindblom  a  member  of  the 
Board,  and  Mr.  Winston  was  elected  president. 

The  Commissioners,  under  the  law,  had  the  power 
to  adopt  rules,  and  the  rules  so  adopted  after  publica- 
tion for  thirty  days  had  all  the  force  of  law.     Among 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE  135 

the  rules  adopted  by  the  first  Board  of  Commissioners 
was  one  to  the  effect  that  no  man  should  be  qualified 
for  the  position  of  police  officer  who  measured  less  than 
five  feet  eight  inches  in  height.  At  an  examination 
for  police  officers  held  some  weeks  prior  to  the  incident 
of  John  B.  Clarke's  being  ordered  removed  from  the 
Commissioners'  office,  the  physicians  in  charge  of  the 
examination,  Doctors  F.  Kreissl,  William  Cuthbertson, 
Maurice  L.  Goodkind  and  A.  R.  Edwards,  all  physicians 
of  good  repute,  certified  that  among  the  candidates  for 
office  the  twenty-six  men  best  qualified  physically  and 
mentally  measured  more  than  five  feet  seven  but  less 
than  five  feet  eight  inches  in  height,  and  that  therefore, 
under  the  rules,  they  could  not  be  accepted.  After 
carefully  considering  the  situation  the  Commissioners 
adopted  a  resolution  amending  the  rule  so  as  to  change 
the  height  requirement  from  five  feet  eight  inches  to 
five  feet  seven  inches.  That  amended  rule  was  unan- 
imously adopted  and  the  secretary  of  the  Board  was 
ordered  to  have  the  amended  rule  published  for  not 
less  than  thirty  days,  and  action  upon  the  examination 
of  policemen  was  continued  for  forty  days.  After  the 
forty  days  elapsed  the  Board,  believing  that  the  new 
rule  was  in  force,  allowed  those  twenty-six  men  to  be 
certified  as  policemen. 

At  the  time  Clarke  was  ordered  out  of  the  Commis- 
sioners' office  he  happened  to  be  a  member  of  the 
grand  jury  which  was  then  in  session.  He  introduced 
a  resolution  in  the  grand  jury  that  the  Civil  Service 
Board  be  investigated.  This  was  adopted  and  he  was 
appointed  chairman  of  the  committee  to  investigate. 
In  the  investigation  that  followed  it  was  discovered 
that  the  secretary  had  neglected  to  publish  the  amended 


136  REMINISCENCES 

rule  adopted  by  the  Board,  and  every  member  of  the 
Board  was  indicted  on  two  counts;  one  charging  that 
they  had  permitted  a  man  (naming  him)  to  become  a 
policeman  who  did  not  measure  five  feet  eight  inches 
in  height  but  measured  only  (as  shown  by  the  records 
of  the  Board)  five  feet  seven  and  three  quarter  inches 
in  height,  and  the  other,  charging  that  the  Board  had 
failed  to  hold  an  examination  for  Corporation  Inspec- 
tors. As  soon  as  the  Grand  Jury  had  voted  the  indict- 
ment, State's  Attorney  Deneen  called  up  the  Commis- 
sioners and  informed  them  of  the  fact.  The  Commis- 
sioners promptly  made  arrangements  to  apply  for  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  and  then  went  to  the  office  of 
the  State's  Attorney  and  asked  to  be  considered  under 
arrest.  I  said  to  the  State's  Attorney:  "A  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  issued  by  Judge  Dunne  will  be  served 
in  a  few  minutes.  We  do  not  wish  to  make  any  de- 
fense on  technicalities.  Tomorrow  morning  the  papers 
will  publish  the  news  that  we  have  been  indicted.  We 
would  like  to  have  it  published  at  the  same  time  that 
at  our  request  you  agreed  that  we  should  be  tried  to- 
morrow. If  we  are  tried  before  Judge  Dunne,  our 
enemies  will  claim  that  we  selected  him  because  we 
believed  that  he  would  be  friendly  to  us.  The  only 
favor  we  ask  in  addition  to  the  one  that  we  may  be 
tried  at  once,  is  that  you  should  select  two  judges  to 
sit  with  Judge  Dunne  to  try  us.  We  believe  that  we 
have  conscientiously  performed  our  duties  and  so  be- 
lieving, we  think  we  are  justified  in  making  this  request." 
State's  Attorney  Deneen  promptly  acceded  to  our  re- 
quest, selected  Judges  Arba  Waterman  and  Francis 
Adams  to  sit  with  Judge  Dunne  in  the  trial  of  the  case, 
and  assigned  Albert  C.  Barnes  his  first  assistant  (now 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE  137 

Chief  Justice  of  the  Appellate   Court)    to   prosecute. 
The  case  was  tried  the  next  day. 

The  judges  delivered  written  opinions,  which  the 
Civil  Service  Board  ordered  printed  in  its  annual  re- 
port of  1898,  pages  204  to  215.  The  opinions  delivered 
by  the  judges  were  in  part  as  follows: 

Judge  Waterman — 

"  Now  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  anything  about  the  indictment 
as  to  the  corporation  inspectors,  because  the  State  has  abandoned 
that  and  does  not  ask  for  any  conviction  under  it.  It  seems  to 
me  that  owing  to  the  way  this  trial  has  been  had,  all  the  circum- 
stances that  surround  it,  that  it  calls  for  something  additional 
to  be  said.  It  appears  here  that  these  Commissioners  have 
worked  under  very  disadvantageous  circumstances.  They  have 
been  crammed  into  rooms  which  were  furnished  for  their  ac- 
commodation. The  statement  of  Mr.  Kraus  of  the  scene  in 
the  room  when  this  rule  reducing  the  height  was  enacted,  shows 
at  once  how  insufficient  was  their  accommodation;  that  they 
three  were  up  in  one  corner  of  a  little  room  about  14  x  16  feet, 
and  the  clerks  and  from  thirty  to  forty  persons,  applicants,  were 
in  another  part  of  the  room,  and  there  this  Commission  had  to 
transact  its  business.  They  were  cramped  in  their  funds,  so 
that  they  were  not  able  to  have  as  much  help  as  they  required, 
and  they  were  besieged  by  an  eager  horde  who  made  their  lives 
miserable  and  occupied  their  time  with  incessant  demands  that 
they  be  given  positions  in  the  service  of  the  City.  It  seems  to 
me  that  the  people  of  this  City  have  been  extremely  fortunate 
in  the  class  of  men  that  they  have  had  to  administer  this  law. 
I  may  say  myself  that  I  have  always  been  a  civil  service  man,  and 
that  I  regard  the  tendency  to  adopt  civil  service  systems  in  the 
governments  of  the  various  States  of  the  Union  and  the  Federal 
Administration  as  the  most  hopeful  sign  there  is  in  American 
politics.  For  my  part  I  think  this  country  has  just  reached  the 
time  which  is  to  determine,  for  it  never  has  been  determined  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  whether  a  great  nation  occupying  an 
empire  in  a  territory  of  at  least  seventy  millions  of  people, 
whether  a  great  nation  like  that  can  exist  under  a  free  Demo- 
cratic and  Republican  form  of  government,  and  I  am  very  well 
satisfied  myself  that  it  cannot,  unless  we  come  to  a  civil  service 
system  in  the  employment  of  the  officials  who  are  to  serve  their 
respective  governments,  and  so  I  say  for  my  part  I  think  the 
people  of  this  City  ought  to  be  congratulated  on  the  very  high 
character  of  the  men  who  have  been  willing  to  serve  the  com- 


138  REMINISCENCES 

munity  as  Civil  Service  Commissioners.  I  don't  know  where 
you  would  have  found  three  men  of  higher  character  than  were 
in  the  first  commission,  nor  do  I  know  where  you  would  have 
found  men  of  higher  character  than  the  present  Commission. 
I  regretted  very  much  that  the  old  Commission  was  removed, 
but  I  was  very  glad  indeed  to  see  the  character  of  the  men  who 
had  been  appointed  in  their  places." 

*       *       *       * 

"While  I  know  not  as  to  what  sins  they  may  have  been  guilty 
of  which  are  undiscovered,  I  do  say  that  the  evidence  here  dis- 
closes that  these  Commissioners  are  entitled  to  the  thanks  of 
the  community  for  all  they  have  undertaken  and  for  what  they 
have  done.  They  had  to  be  hardened  against  swearing  men 
and  crying  women.  They  had  to  steel  themselves  against  the 
prayers  of  ragged  and  shoeless  children  and  the  fists  and  threats 
of  desperate  men,  and  that  they  have  done  as  well  as  they  did, 
carried  out  the  law  as  faithfully,  as  appears  from  the  evidence 
they  have,  and  put  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  employes  of  this 
City  under  the  classified  service,  seems  to  me  to  entitle  them  to 
the  thanks  of  the  community.  It  appears  today  that  ninety- 
five  per  cent  of  the  employes  of  the  City  are  under  the  Civil 
Service  rules  and  regulations,  and  that  by  the  munificent  opera- 
tions of  this  law,  under  the  reign  of  the  old  Commission  and  the 
present  Commission,  something  like  three  millions  of  dollars 
per  annum  is  saved  to  the  taxpayers  of  this  City  in  the  matter 
of  salaries  alone.  I  think  this  is  something  for  which  the  people 
of  this  City  have  reason  to  be  grateful,  and  that  they  ought  to 
bestow  a  little  of  that  gratitude  upon  the  members  of  the  past 
and  present  Commission. 

"The  trouble  in  our  country  is  not  at  all  that  men  of  high 
character  are  too  willing  to  take  office.  Such  offices  as  these  I 
may  say,  in  a  great  city  like  Chicago,  among  men  of  high  charac- 
ter, go  begging.  The  offices  which  men  of  wealth  and  standing 
and  high  character  are  willing  to  take  are  those  that  are  away 
up.  There  could  be  thousands  of  men  of  high  character  found 
who  would  be  willing  to  go  as  minister  to  England.  It  is  not 
these  fine  men  that  are  willing  to  occupy  such  positions  for  the 
salary  that  is  paid,  such  positions  as  Jury  Commissioners  and 
Civil  Service  Commissioners,  and  when  such  men  are  found  it 
seems  to  me  that  their  acts  are  at  least  by  the  community  to  be 
treated  with  charitable  consideration." 

Judge  Dunne: — "In  the  indictment  assigned  to  me  let  there 
be  a  finding  that  both  defendants  are  not  guilty,  and  judgment 
on  the  finding,  and  they  are  discharged  from  custody." 

Judge  Adams: — "In  the  matter  of  the  petition  of  Hemp- 
stead Washburne  for  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  the  petitioner, 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE  139 

together  with  Adolf  Kraus  and  Dudley  Winston,  was  arrested 
on  two  indictments.  These  indictments  are  pending,  one  each 
before  Judges  Dunne  and  Waterman.  It  was  stipulated  that 
the  petition  should  be  heard  on  the  evidence  produced  on  the 
trial  of  the  defendants  under  the  indictments.  This  makes  it 
necessary  to  consider  all  the  evidence,  although  one  indictment 
has  been  abandoned.  The  petitioner  and  his  co-defendants 
were  Civil  Service  Commissioners  appointed  and  serving  under 
an  Act  known  as  the  '  Civil  Service  Act,  approved  and  in  force 
March  20,  1895.'  The  Act  provides  that  any  person  who  shall 
willfully  or  through  culpable  negligence  violate  any  of  its  pro- 
visions, or  any  rule  promulgated  in  accordance  with  any  of  its 
provisions,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  etc. 

*       *       *       * 

"I  am  of  the  opinion  that  there  has  been  no  violation  of  the 
Act,  either  willful  or  by  culpable  negligence,  as  charged  in  the 
indictment. 

"I  fully  agree  in  what  Judge  WATERMAN  has  said  with 
regard  to  the  character  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  been  Com- 
missioners of  Civil  Service.  I  think  all  will  agree  that  no  six 
more  reputable  gentlemen  can  be  found  in  this  community  than 
the  three  who  constituted  the  former  Board  of  Civil  Service 
Commissioners,  and  those  who  compose  the  present  Board.  If 
we  cannot  trust  them,  then  we  may  as  well  say,  as  Dido  said  to 
Aeneas,  '  Nusquam  tuta  fides' — no  confidence  to  be  placed  in 
anybody  anywhere. 

"The  Petitioner,  Hempstead  Washburne,  will  be  discharged." 

Judge  Dunne: — "I  have  no  occasion,  gentlemen,  to  add  any- 
thing to  the  remarks  of  the  two  gentlemen  who  occupy  the 
bench  with  me.  We  are  all  convinced,  from  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  this  record,  that  neither  one  of  these  defendants  is  guilty 
of  any  technical  violation  of  law,  or  any  violation  of  morals. 
The  order  in  the  case,  therefore,  will  be  in  the  habeas  corpus  case 
that  the  relator  will  be  discharged,  and  in  the  criminal  cases, 
not  guilty  in  both  cases." 

At  the  disposition  of  the  proceedings  against  the 
Commissioners  as  above  indicated,  the  Chicago  Chroni- 
cle published  an  editorial  severely  condemning  Clarke 
for  the  part  he  had  taken  in  the  affair,  and  Clarke  sued 
the  Chronicle  for  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  damages. 
Shortly  afterwards  he  enlisted  in  the  Spanish  American 
war,  and  when  the  case  came  up  for  trial  he  obtained 


140  REMINISCENCES 

leave  of  absence  and  appeared  in  court  in  a  captain's 
uniform.  The  Chronicle,  in  defending  the  case,  justi- 
fied the  editorial  on  the  ground  that  everything  it 
published  concerning  Clarke  was  true.  The  jury  so 
found,  and  Clarke  lost  the  case. 

When  Lindblom  was  appointed  to  succeed  me 
Washburne  refused  to  serve  with  him  and  resigned, 
Adolph  F.  Gartz  being  appointed  in  his  place.  A  few 
days  later  John  M.  Glen,  the  secretary,  also  resigned. 

During  the  first  week  in  April,  Mr.  Winston,  com- 
pletely worn  out  from  overwork,  left  for  a  vacation  and 
died  of  heart  failure  on  the  train  that  was  bearing  him 
to  join  his  family.  Thus  all  of  the  members  of  the 
second  Civil  Service  Commission  were  eliminated,  one 
by  death  and  two  by  resignation. 

Messrs.  Lindblom  and  Gartz,  the  surviving  members 
of  the  Commission,  called  a  memorial  meeting  to  which 
Mr.  Washburne  and  myself  were  invited,  and  having 
been  requested  to  prepare  resolutions  on  the  death  of 
Mr.  Winston  I  presented  the  following: 

"On  April  11,  1898,  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Civil 
Service  Commissioners  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  Dudley  Winston, 
died,  while  on  the  way  to  join  his  family  at  New  York. 

"He  was  born  in  1865,  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  He  was  the 
son  of  Frederick  H.  Winston,  late  minister  to  Persia,  and  follow- 
ing early  in  life  the  example  of  his  father,  he  devoted  his  best  ener- 
gies to  public  service.  To  this  he  brought  a  mind  equipped  with 
knowledge  and  an  intellect  strong  and  clear  in  judgment,  and 
all  the  resources  and  strength  gained  from  his  thorough  appre- 
ciation of  the  exceptional  advantages  of  training  and  education 
which  he  improved  to  the  utmost.  After  a  thorough  preparation 
for  college  he  entered  Yale  University  and  graduated  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1886. 

"His  genial  character  won  friendship,  and  his  sterling  abilities 
and  judgment  commanded  admiration  in  every  walk  of  life  into 
which  he  entered.  When  he  was  asked  to  undertake  the  duties 
of  the  office  of  a  Civil  Service  Commissioner  of  the  City  of  Chicago 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE  141 

he  held  an  enviable  place  in  the  hearts  and  estimation  of  a  large 
circle  of  social  and  business  friends  and  acquaintances.  The 
position  which  he  accepted  proved  to  be  one  of  even  more  ardu- 
ous work  and  exacting  nature  than  he  or  anyone  else  had  antici- 
pated, although  he  accepted  the  position  knowing,  as  did  every- 
one else,  that  the  conditions  affecting  the  work  of  the  Commission 
promised  hard  work  and  great  difficulty.  But  he  carried  out 
the  work  with  unfaltering  zeal,  and  with  undaunted  good  will 
and  steadfast  purpose  strove  successfully  for  the  strict  enforce- 
ment of  the  letter  of  the  law.  His  fine  judgment  and  great 
consideration  for  others  made  even  those  who  opposed  most 
bitterly  the  course  which  his  high  ideals  held  him  to,  recognize 
and  applaud  the  unselfishness  and  purity  of  his  motives.  But 
it  was  not  alone  in  the  heat  of  the  struggle  for  the  vindication 
of  the  law,  which  he  knew  would  sooner  or  later  compel  public 
and  general  approval,  that  his  efforts  and  strength  were  spent. 
To  the  onerous,  complicated  work  of  the  office,  which  was  un- 
known to  the  public  and  unobserved  in  its  modest  performance 
even  by  his  friends,  he  gave  his  health  and  strength.  Urged 
against  his  will  to  take  needed  rest,  he  persisted  in  his  labors 
until  his  strength  was  gone.  His  zeal  did  not  recognize  and  was 
not  bounded  even  by  the  large  limits  of  his  youthful  vigor  and 
strength.  In  his  loss  the  cause  of  Civil  Service  reform  has  lost 
one  who  stood  for  the  highest  achievements  of  that  great  move- 
ment. For,  in  his  untiring  work,  there  was  exercised  the  modera- 
tion, thoroughness  and  sound  judgment  that  built  upon  sure  and 
lasting  foundations. 

"In  his  loss  the  City  of  Chicago  has  been  deprived  of  a  citizen 
who  displayed  the  highest  sense  of  the  duties  of  citizenship.  For 
he  brought  to  the  public  service  the  best  of  all  the  power  and 
ability  with  which  he  was  liberally  gifted;  and  he  not  only  held 
the  service  to  the  city  ever  first  in  its  demands  on  his  time  and 
strength,  but  maintained  his  high  ideals  of  his  duties  to  that 
service  unflinching  and  fearless  in  the  face  of  stormy  opposition. 

"In  his  loss  the  members  of  this  Commission  have  lost  one  for 
whom  they  felt  most  strongly  the  personal  attraction,  admira- 
tion and  warm  friendship  that  made  his  association  with  all 
free  from  constraint  and  formality,  and  strong  and  helpful  in 
its  frankness  and  life.  The  great  share  of  the  work  of  the 
Commission  which  he  has  done  so  well  will  be  borne  heavily  and 
haltingly  by  those  that  labor  in  the  shadow  of  his  loss. 

"He  was  frank  and  courageous  in  expressing  his  opinion  of 
men  and  measure,  yet  free  from  bitterness  and  personal  invec- 
tive.    Therefore,  be  it 

"RESOLVED,  That  the  members  of  the  Civil  Service  Commis- 
sion of  the  City  of  Chicago,  profoundly  impressed  with  the  great 


142  REMINISCENCES 

loss  sustained  by  the  Commission,  the  cause  of  civil  service  re- 
form and  the  City  of  Chicago,  in  the  untimely  death  of  President 
Dudley  Winston,  desire  to  record  their  high  esteem  for  the 
qualities  that  he  displayed  during  his  service  as  Civil  Service 
Commissioner,  which  gave  such  perfect  assurance  that  the  law 
could  be  and  would  be  conscientiously  and  fearlessly  maintained. 
"RESOLVED,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  bereaved 
family  of  Dudley  Winston,  and  that  an  engrossed  copy  of  this 
memorial  and  these  resolutions  be  presented  to  them  by  the 
Secretary." 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted. 
In    presenting   the   resolutions,    I   spoke   briefly  as 
follows : 

"A  few  words  in  addition  to  the  memorial  just  presented 
might  not  be  amiss. 

"Shortly  after  Mr.  Winston  was  appointed  Commissioner  he 
was  taken  sick.  His  anxiety  to  do  his  duty  to  the  public  caused 
him  to  come  to  the  office  in  the  heat  of  summer  long  before  it 
was  prudent  for  him  to  do  so,  and,  from  that  day  up  to  about 
ten  days  ago,  he  worked  for  the  public  welfare  without  any 
regard  for  his  health  or  comfort.  Many  a  time  he  could  be 
found  in  these  rooms  at  night,  and  even  on  Sundays,  at  work. 
He  wanted  no  praise  and  expected  none.  To  carry  out  the  law, 
as  it  was  his  sworn  duty  to  do,  he  had  to  and  he  did  resist  prayers 
and  appeals  of  personal  and  political  friends,  and  even  the 
appeals — which  were  the  hardest  to  resist — of  crying  women  and 
children  asking  for  employment  for  the  head  of  the  family. 
When  the  hardest  work  was  about  over,  and  he  believed  that  he 
could  take  a  rest,  which  he  deserved  and  needed  so  much,  it  was 
considered  good  politics  by  the  Republican  statesmen  in  Spring- 
field to  send  a  packed  committee  here,  not  for  the  purpose  of 
investigating,  but  for  the  purpose  of  condemning  a  Democratic 
Mayor  and  Civil  Service  Commission,  and,  in  order  to  have  a 
basis  for  a  report,  the  Commission  was  forced  to  accept  a  speech 
from  a  man  of  small  calibre,  but  great  pretensions,  whose  vanity 
was  hurt  because  Mr.  Winston  and  his  associates  did  not  see 
fit  to  ask  his  advice  but  preferred  to  rely  on  their  own  judgment. 
When  next  we  see  this  man,  it  is  before  the  grand  jury,  repeating 
his  speech  and  demanding  and  obtaining  as  a  reward  for  the 
faithful  services  of  Mr.  Winston  an  indictment  against  him. 
Then  came  the  hearing  before  the  three  judges,  representing 
both  political  parties.  Counsel  for  Mr.  Winston,  in  his  opening 
address,  stated  to  the  judges  that  no  technical  objection  would 
be  made;  but,  if  the  judges  should  find  that  the  defendants  had 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE  143 

faithfully  carried  out  the  law,  that  then,  in  that  case,  the  de- 
fendants requested  that  the  judges  should  not  merely  say  'Not 
Guilty,'  but  should  speak  words  which  the  children  of  the 
defendants  could  show  in  defense  of  their  fathers'  memory 
when  the  father  was  dead  and  gone.  The  judges  unanimously 
decided  that  the  law  had  been  honestly  and  fearlessly  enforced, 
and  that  Mr.  Winston  was  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  the  people. 
Little  did  we  think  that  the  youngest  of  the  Commissioners 
would  be  the  first  to  go. 

"I  do  not  refer  to  all  this  with  any  feeling  of  bitterness.  I 
simply  call  attention  to  the  facts  which  helped  to  undermine 
the  health  of  a  weak  body  containing  a  strong  intellect,  and  I 
may  say  to  those  who,  during  that  time  persecuted  Mr.  Winston, 
that  he  felt  no  hatred  for  them,  but  for  some  he  had  only  pity, 
while  for  others  contempt — and  that,  knowing  he  was  fulfilling 
his  duties  according  to  his  best  knowledge,  and  even  beyond  his 
physical  strength,  he  could  afford  to  ignore  all  dishonest  attacks 
and  rely  upon  the  fairness  of  the  people  to  appreciate  his  honest 
efforts." 

The  Mayor  appointed  Mr.  Edward  Carroll  to  suc- 
ceed to  Mr.  Winston,  and  Mr.  Lindblom  was  then 
elected  president  of  the  Board.  When  Mr.  Gartz  was 
appointed  the  City  Hall  crowd  rejoiced,  but  not  for 
very  long,  for  Mr.  Gartz,  as  appears  from  the  records 
of  the  Commission,  held  substantially  the  same  views 
as  to  the  enforcement  of  the  civil  service  rules  as  did 
the  Commissioners  who  had  preceded  him. 

President  Lindblom  ruled  that  as  the  Corporation 
Counsel  was  the  head  of  the  legal  department  of  the 
city,  the  Commission  was  bound  by  his  opinions,  and 
that  the  opinion  of  the  other  counsel  would  not  be 
accepted.  The  question  came  up  at  the  meeting  of 
June  14,  1898,  as  to  whether  the  voucher  of  one  Patrick 
Griffin,  of  May  11th,  for  one  hundred  and  four  dollars 
should  be  certified  as  correct.  Griffin  was  a  sixty  day 
appointee  serving  after  the  sixty  days  had  expired,  and 
the  voucher  covered  compensation  accruing  after  the 
expiration  of  the  sixty  day  period.     The  Corporation 


144  REMINISCENCES 

Counsel  gave  an  opinion  in  which  he  ruled  that  the 
voucher  should  be  certified  as  correct.  On  that 
question  Lindblom  and  Carroll  voted  "aye" — Gartz 
"no, "  and  asked  the  privilege  of  explaining  his  vote 
by  offering  an  opinion  of  counsel.  Lindblom  objected 
to  this,  stating  that  the  only  proper  source  of  legal  ad- 
vice was  the  Corporation  Counsel,  and  to  this  Carroll 
agreed.  Gartz  persisted  in  his  contention  that  he  had 
the  right  to  secure  opinions  from  outside  counsel,  and 
at  the  next  meeting  made  the  following  explanation 
as  to  why  he  voted  "no"  concerning  the  voucher  of 
Patrick  Griffin : 

"I  voted  'no'  for  the  reason  that  I  believe,  contrary 
to  the  opinion  furnished  the  Commission  and  incorpo- 
rated in  the  minutes  of  June  7,1898,  that  all  sixty  day 
appointees  who  are  kept  at  work  after  authority  for 
their  appointment  under  Section  10  of  the  Civil  Service 
Law  has  expired  are  not  properly  on  the  payroll. " 
The  law  was  that  where  there  was  no  eligible  list,  the 
heads  of  departments  could  appoint  men  temporarily 
for  not  to  exceed  sixty  days.  A  number  of  heads 
of  departments  tried  their  utmost  to  keep  their  ap- 
pointees in  as  long  as  they  could.  On  July  1st,  1898, 
A.  F.  Gartz'  term  expired  and  the  Mayor  appointed 
John  W.  Ludwig  as  his  successor.  Gartz  therefore 
served  only  three  months.  Evidently  the  fact  that 
he  was  not  willing  to  accept  the  Corporation  Coun- 
sel's construction  of  the  Civil  Service  Law  made  him 
unpopular. 

From  the  time  that  Gartz'  term  expired  and  his 
successor  was  appointed,  the  Corporation  Counsel's 
rulings  were  accepted  by  the  Commission  without 
question;  the  law  was  enforced  in  accordance  with  his 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE  145 

views  and  there  was  peace  between  the  Commissioners 
and  the  job  hunting  politicians. 

In  the  records  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  under 
date  of  December  31,  1897,  appears  the  following: 

''The  following  resolution  was  presented  by  Com- 
missioner Winston  and  was  adopted  on  vote  of  Com- 
missioners Washburne  and  Winston,  Commissioner 
Kraus  not  voting  on  account  of  the  fact  that  two  of 
the  gentlemen  named  in  the  resolution  were  members 
of  the  same  firm  of  attorneys: 

"WHEREAS,  In  order  to  have  the  Civil  Service  Law  pro- 
perly construed,  it  was  necessary  for  the  Commission  to  employ 
counsel  to  represent  it  in  the  mandamus  proceedings  in  the 
Supreme  Court,  in  which  the  Commissioners  were  respondents, 
and  also  in  the  proceedings  against  the  Board  of  Education, 
begun  in  the  Circuit  Court  and  now  pending  in  our  Supreme 
Court,  and 

"WHEREAS,  Messrs.  John  W.  Ela,  Thomas  A.  Moran,  Levy 
Mayer  and  Charles  R.  Holden  represented  the  Commission  in 
said  proceedings  at  the  request  of  the  Commission  and  without 
fee  or  reward;  therefore  be  it 

"RESOLVED,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Commission  are  due 
and  are  hereby  tendered  to  Messrs.  Ela,  Moran,  Mayer  and 
Holden  for  their  valuable  services  on  behalf  of  the  Commission, 
and  be  it  further 

"RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded 
to  each  one  of  them." 

My  law  firm  sent  in  a  bill  for  cash  paid  out  for  ap- 
pearance fees  in  the  Supreme  Court  and  for  printing 
records  and  briefs,  amounting  to  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-eight dollars,  which  the  Commission  allowed.  Short- 
ly after  Mr.  Winston's  death,  finding  that  a  voucher 
for  these  cash  disbursements  made  on  behalf  of  the 
Board  had  not  been  sent,  I  called  on  Mr.  Lindblom 
and  asked  him  why  the  voucher  was  not  sent  my  firm. 
He  answered,  "  I  refuse  to  sign  it;  your  firm  has  already 
been  paid  more  than  enough  by  receiving  a  vote  of 


146  REMINISCENCES 

thanks.  You  should  have  allowed  the  Corporation 
Counsel  to  represent  the  Commission.  If  you  had  done 
so  the  city  would  have  advanced  the  costs."  I  said, 
"Mr.  Lindblom,  out  of  regard  for  the  Mayor  who  ap- 
pointed you,  I  am  prevented  from  informing  the  press 
as  to  what  you  have  just  said.  If  you  can  afford  to 
take  such  a  position,  we  can  afford  to  waive  our  claim." 
That  was  the  last  time  I  met  Mr.  Lindblom. 

My  experience  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion and  Corporation  Counsel  always  awakens  pleasant 
memories.  I  cannot  say  as  much,  however,  for  the 
presidency  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission.  In  fact, 
I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  whatever  sins  I  may 
have  committed  before  holding  that  office  were  fully 
atoned  for  by  my  experience  in  attempting  to  conduct 
that  office  according  to  law.  When  I  resigned,  I  con- 
cluded that  there  were  more  effective  and  satisfactory 
ways  of  serving  my  fellowmen  than  through  the  medi- 
um of  public  office,  and  I  determined  to  devote  at  least 
part  of  my  time  to  relieving  distress,  especially  among 
my  co-religionists. 

Shortly  after  I  resigned  from  office  I  notified  my 
partners  that  I  would  retire  from  the  firm.  The 
separation  was  entirely  friendly  and  after  it  was  ac- 
complished I  organized  a  new  firm,  of  which  Samuel 
Alschuler,  Charles  R.  Holden,  and  Thomas  J.  Lawless 
became  members.  Each  of  these  men  is  a  very  able 
lawyer,  a  gentleman,  and  is  thoroughly  honest. 

A  certain  lecturer  in  concluding  his  address  said, 
"A  perfect  man  never  existed.  Is  there  one  among 
you  who  knows  a  perfect  man?  If  so,  stand  up." 
No  one  stood  up.  He  next  asked,  "  Has  anyone  of  you 
ever  heard  of  a  perfect  man?    If  so,  stand  up."     A 


A  PUBLIC  OFFICE  147 

little  man  in  the  rear  of  the  audience  stood  up,  and  in  a 
piping  voice  said,  "I  have  heard  of  a  perfect  man." 
"And  pray,  who  is  or  was  that  perfect  man?"  the 
lecturer  asked.  "My  wife's  first  husband,"  answered 
the  voice. 

Whether  or  not  the  perfect  man  ever  existed,  I 
know  of  one  who,  as  to  character,  comes  as  near  being 
a  perfect  man  as  can  be  found  anywhere;  that  man  is 
Sam  Alschuler.  Without  in  the  slightest  degree  re- 
flecting on  my  old  partners,  I  will  say  for  each  and  all 
of  the  partners  of  my  second  firm  that  I  could  not  have 
found  more  loyal  friends  anywhere. 

Mr.  Alschuler  is  now  Presiding  Judge  of  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals;  Mr.  Holden  is  Vice- 
President  of  the  Union  Trust  Company  of  Chicago, 
and  chief  of  the  Trust  Department  of  that  Bank;  and 
Mr.  Lawless  is  General  Attorney  of  the  Chicago,  Bur- 
lington &  Quincy  Railroad  Company. 

As  these  reminiscences  are  being  written  I  am  near- 
ing  my  75th  birthday.  I  realize  that  my  life's  record 
is  behind  me,  and  that  at  best  I  have  only  a  short  time 
of  activity  before  me.  In  thinking  of  the  past,  I  see 
clearly  the  many  mistakes  I  have  made  and  I  sometimes 
wonder  whether — if  I  had  my  life  to  live  over  again — 
I  should  make  the  same  mistakes.  I  do  not  know.  I 
might  possibly  do  worse.  So  far  as  concerns  me  per- 
sonally, the  most  important  act  of  my  life,  the  one  that 
has  brought  me  the  greatest  happiness,  was  my  marriage 
nearly  forty-eight  years  ago  to  Mathilde  Hirsh.  Dur- 
ing all  the  years  of  our  married  life  she  has  never 
spoken  an  unkind  word  to  me.  She  has  been  and  is 
the  best  of  wives  and  mothers.  She  has  trained  our 
children  to  be  truthful,   to  love  us  and  to  obey  us. 


148  REMINISCENCES 

The  youngest  of  them  is  now  nearly  forty-years  of  age, 
and  as  far  as  their  conduct  towards  us  is  concerned,  it 
is  the  same  as  it  was  when  they  were  little  children.  I 
envy  no  one,  for  no  one  could  be  happier  in  his  home 
life  than  I  have  been. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  JEW 


IV 
THE  JEW 

According  to  family  history,  which  was  carefully 
treasured  and  handed  down  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion, my  father  was  a  descendant  of  Aaron,  the  High 
Priest,  and  was  therefore  a  priest,  as  were  likewise  the 
sons  of  my  father.  According  to  orthodox  custom  it 
is  not  the  rabbis  but  the  priests  who  bless  the  congre- 
gation. When  I  became  thirteen  years  of  age,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom,  I  was  confirmed.  Shortly  after  this 
my  father  died.  He  was  the  only  descendant  of  Aaron 
in  our  congregation,  and  since  at  that  time  my  older 
brother  had  already  emigrated  to  America  it  left  me — 
a  boy  in  age  but  a  man  according  to  the  orthodox 
doctrine — the  priest  of  the  congregation.  When  I 
look  back  and  see  myself  blessing  that  little  congregation 
I  recall  with  deepest  respect  the  piety  of  the  members 
who,  out  of  religious  sentiment,  took  the  blessing 
spoken  by  the  boy  with  greater  humility  than  many  of 
the  members  of  our  large  congregations  today  listen  to 
the  blessing  of  the  rabbi. 

In  reform  congregations  the  descendants  of  Aaron 
are  no  longer  accorded  such  special  recognition.  For 
two  thousand  years  these  family  traditions  were  kept 
up  and  are  still  kept  up  in  orthodox  congregations. 
Those  traditions  are  dying  out  and  are  almost  un- 
known in  the  reform  congregations  of  America.  For 
twenty  years  I  had  been  President  of  Isaiah  Temple, 
a  reform  congregation  in  Chicago,  and  declining  a 
re-election  was  elected  Honorary  President  of  the  con- 

151 


152  REMINISCENCES 

gregation  for  life.  None  of  my  sons  has  ever  seen  a 
descendant  of  Aaron  officiate  in  a  temple,  and  their 
children  will  probably  learn  here  for  the  first  time  that 
they  are  descendants  of  Aaron. 

While  I  discarded,  many  years  ago,  the  orthodox 
ceremonials  and  adopted  the  reform  doctrines,  I 
love  to  hear  the  old  melodies  which  my  forefathers 
sang.  I  respect  the  spirit  of  the  old  ceremonials  and 
those  who  keep  them  as  fully  as  though  I  was  still  a 
member  of  an  orthodox  congregation. 

The  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith  was  estab- 
lished in  the  year  1843.  While  it  was,  to  some  extent, 
patterned  after  the  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows  fraterni- 
ties, it  was  at  no  time  what  might  be  termed  a  secret 
organization.  In  1886,  Julius  Bien,  then  President  of 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Order,  started  to  write 
its  history.  He  said,  "In  reality,  the  Order  cannot  be 
said  to  be  a  secret  society  in  the  accepted  significance 
attached  to  that  meaning — its  purposes  lie  open  before 
the  world, — its  members  and  their  positions  are  well 
known."  The  principal  objects  of  the  organization  at 
the  beginning  were  to  establish  social  intercourse  be- 
tween the  members,  to  allow  them  sick  benefits  and 
to  establish  a  widow  and  orphans  endowment  fund. 
At  the  convention  of  the  Order  in  1879,  the  widow 
and  orphans  endowment  plan  received  its  first  re- 
strictions and  it  was  declared  that  the  activity 
of  the  Order  was  to  be  mainly  directed  to  the  intel- 
lectual and  moral  progress  of  the  brethren.  Some 
years  afterwards  the  endowment  feature  of  the  Order 
was  abolished. 


THE  JEW  153 

In  1900,  Leo  N.  Levi  was  elected  President  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Order.  In  his  inaugural 
address  he  said : 

"It  has  been  said  that  we  are  entering  upon  a  new  era  in  the 
destiny  of  the  Jew.  I  believe  that;  I  believe  it  firmly.  I  stated 
years  ago  that  I  believed  that  the  salvation  of  Judaism  was  the 
American  born  Jew.  I  have  travelled  over  this  land  and  I  find 
our  young  men  and  our  young  women,  unversed  as  they  are  in 
the  old  traditional  forms  and  ceremonies,  strangers  to  the  ritual 
around  which  cling  so  many  tender  memories  in  the  minds  of  our 
older  people,  yet  animated,  inspired  and  uplifted  by  the  quicken- 
ing love  which  they  hear  to  the  old  ancestral  faith  and  craving 
for  media  of  expression  for  that  feeling.  They  seek  it  in  good 
works,  in  charitable  deeds,  in  the  amelioration  of  the  condition 
of  our  fellow  men;  and  I  believe  that  when  we  bring  to  them 
the  mission  which  has  sustained  us  so  long,  when  we  make 
apparent  to  them  that  here  is  the  field  for  their  activity,  we 
will  gain  from  them  that  cooperation  in  the  need  of  which  we  so 
sorely  stand.  But  we  must  carry  our  wares  to  them,  we  must 
inspire  them  with  the  courage  that  has  sustained  us,  and  with 
the  infusion  of  new  spirit  and  new  energy  and  new  aspiration 
create  a  new  epoch,  not  for  ourselves  but  for  the  people  for  whom 
the  Order  stands.  And  it  does  stand  for  the  people — the  great- 
est organization  among  the  Jews  known  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  spread  over  all  the  world,  conducted  by  its  representa- 
tive men,  it  stands  for  the  Jew  and  for  Judaism." 

During  the  administration  of  Leo  N.  Levi,  the  cele- 
brated Kishenefl  Petition  was  presented.  He  died 
before  his  term  of  office  expired  and  Simon  Wolf,  ex- 
United  States  Minister  to  Egypt,  was  selected  to  fill 
the  vacancy. 

I  joined  the  organization  in  1876.  For  a  number  of 
years  I  was  a  member  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  the 
Order.  Probably  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  insurance 
features  of  the  Order,  both  as  to  sick  and  death  benefits, 
had  in  the  majority  of  the  American  districts  been 
abolished,  many  members  resigned  and  interest  in  the 
organization  was  continually  diminishing.  In  1905 
the  convention  of  the  Order  was  held  in  New  Orleans. 


154  REMINISCENCES 

The  delegates  held  caucuses  for  the  purpose  ol  selecting 
a  President  of  the  organization  for  the  next  five  years. 
I  was  the  choice  of  a  large  majority.  A  committee 
tendered  me  the  position.  I  declined,  giving  as  my 
reason  that  much  abler  men  could  be  found  among  the 
delegates  to  fill  the  position,  and  suggested  the  names 
of  two;  one  of  these  was  Jacob  Furth,  Treasurer  of  the 
Order,  who  was  present,  and  I  asked  him  if  he  would 
accept  the  presidency.  Furth  answered,  "That  office 
killed  Leo  N.  Levi.  It  would  kill  me.  The  boys  want 
you  to  take  it;  take  it."  I  laughed,  and  Furth  quickly 
added,  "  I  did  not  mean  it  that  way.  I  know  that  you 
are  strong  enough  to  take  the  job  and  I  am  not." 
Nathan  M.  Uri,  a  delegate  from  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
said  to  me:  "  I  am  surprised  that  you  refuse  to  accept 
such  an  honorable  position.  If  you  accept  it,  it  will 
give  you  an  opportunity  to  be  of  great  service  to  our 
people,  a  service  that  will  cause  you  to  be  remembered 
after  you  are  dead  and  gone  and  may  some  day  be  of 
benefit  to  your  children."  I  answered,  "If  elected,  I 
will  serve." 

On  March  22,  1905,  the  election  of  officers  took 
place.  President  Wolf  placed  me  in  nomination  as 
follows : 

"I  will  only  take  up  your  time  for  a  moment.  If  you  will 
turn  to  my  message  you  will  find  I  stated  'man  creates  the 
opportunity  and  opportunity  creates  the  man.'  The  opportunity 
has  come  and  the  man  is  here.  I  believe  in  recognizing  men 
who  do  things  and  do  not  merely  talk  about  them.  Here  we 
have  a  man  of  wealth,  about  whom  some  have  spoken;  a  man  of 
independent  means,  of  high  judicial  temperament,  a  representa- 
tive Jew,  president  of  one  of  the  largest  congregations  of  one  of 
our  great  cities,  a  member  of  the  Order  who  has  done  work,  a 
gentleman  and  a  man  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  I  take 
pleasure  in  nominating  as  President,  Brother  Adolf  Kraus  of 
Chicago." 


THE  JEW  155 

Martin  A.  Marks  seconded  the  nomination  as  follows: 

"Brother  President,  I  recognize  the  fact  that  the  action  of 
this  Constitution  Grand  Lodge  in  selecting  a  man  as  the  execu- 
tive head  of  the  Order,  makes  that  selection  one  by  which  the 
person  selected  becomes  one  of  the  prominent  figures  in  American 
Israel  if  not  in  the  world.  I  recognize  the  fact  that  it  is  no  small 
task  for  a  man  to  assume  such  a  position,  and  I  also  believe  that 
no  man  should  assume  that  responsibility  unless  he  feels  that 
the  world  is  looking  to  him  to  do  something  for  the  purpose  of 
building  up  this  great  Order. 

"On  behalf  of  District  Grand  Lodge  No.  2,  I  take  pleasure 
in  seconding  the  nomination  of  Brother  Adolf  Kraus,  because 
I  believe  that  in  selecting  him  we  are  placing  at  the  head  of  the 
Order  one  who  will  ably  carry  on  the  work  which  is  assigned  to 
him." 

I  was  re-elected  in  1910  and  1920.  My  term  of 
office  will  expire  in  1925. 

In  1904  war  was  begun  between  Russia  and  Japan. 
The  battles  at  sea  between  the  contending  nations  soon 
revealed  the  hopelessly  delapidated  and  weakened  con- 
dition of  the  Russian  navy,  and  realizing  this  the 
Russian  people  began  a  severe  and  alarming  criticism 
of  their  government.  To  give  the  people  a  chance  to 
let  out  their  wrath  in  some  other  direction,  the  police 
department  caused  circulars  to  be  distributed  inciting 
the  masses  against  the  Jews.  The  press  reported  the 
following  results: 

January  22,  igo$ — Disturbances  on  "Red  Sunday"  at  St. 
Petersburg,  spreading  to  Wilna,  Bialystok,  Warsaw,  and  Lodz; 
many  Jews  victims. 

February — Anti-Jewish  excesses  at  Dunaberg  and  Bybny 
Bynck,  Russia. 

February  20 — Anti-Jewish  rioting  at  Theodosia,  Crimea. 
Forty-seven  Jews  killed. 

April  18 — Anti-Semitic  disturbances  at  Melitopol.  Thirteen 
Jews  killed. 

April  23 — Massacre  of  Jews  at  Pavliokovka  and  Podol,  near 
Zhitomir.     Anti-Jewish  riots  at  Duisata,  Kovno,  Russia. 

May  14 — An ti- Jewish  riots  at  Kishineff  and  Simferopol, 
Russia. 


156  REMINISCENCES 

Shortly  afterwards,  the  Russian- Japanese  war  came 
to  an  end.  Through  the  friendly  offices  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  then  President  of  the  United  States,  a 
peace  conference  between  the  two  nations  was  arranged 
to  meet  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.  Baron 
Schlippenbach  was  then  Russian  Consul  in  Chicago.  I 
requested  him  to  arrange,  if  possible,  that  the  Russian 
Envoy  grant  an  interview  to  a  committee  I  would 
name,  to  discuss  what,  if  anything,  could  be  done  to 
protect  the  Jews  in  Russia.  The  Baron  kindly  under- 
took the  task,  and  on  August  2,  1905,  wired  me  from 
New  York  as  follows: 

"You  and  party  will  be  received  with  pleasure.  At  your 
arrival  will  appoint  time.  I  think  Friday  evening  after  the 
return  from  Presidential  call." 

The  meeting  took  place  at  Portsmouth  on  August 
14,  1905.  There  were  present  M.  de  Witte,  Baron 
Rosen,  Russian  Ambassador,  and  as  M.  de  Witte  did 
not  speak  English,  his  official  interpreter,  Mr.  Gregory 
Wilenkin,  a  Russian  Jew,  on  one  side,  and  Messrs. 
Jacob  H.  Schiff,  Oscar  S.  Strauss,  Isaac  N.  Seligman, 
Adolph  Lewisohn  and  myself  on  the  other.  The  con- 
ference lasted  several  hours  and  the  subject  matter 
thereof  in  its  various  phases  was  thoroughly  discussed. 
Many  questions  were  asked  and  answered  during  the 
interview.  To  Mr.  SchifFs  question,  "Will  you  please 
tell  me  why  you,  as  a  Russian,  have  full  rights  in  your 
country,  while  he  (pointing  to  Mr.  Wilenkin),  also  a 
Russian,  has  none?"  M.  de  Witte  without  hesitation 
answered  that  the  restrictive  Russian  laws  applicable 
to  Jews,  if  printed  would  fill  a  large  volume;  that  they 
were  unjust;  that  they  ought  to  be  repealed,  but  that 
that  should  be  done  gradually,  for  if  all  should  be  re- 


THE  JEW  157 

pealed  at  once  it  might  create  a  revolution;  that  only 
the  Emperor  could  repeal  the  laws,  but  that  not  much 
could  be  expected  from  the  Emperor  so  long  as  the 
young  Jews  were  leaders  among  the  Revolutionists; 
that  we  ought  to  use  all  our  influence  to  convince  the 
young  Jews  that  it  was  to  their  interest  to  be  loyal  to 
the  Emperor;  that  if  that  could  be  done  the  Emperor 
would  probably  grant  relief.  Mr.  Schiff  said,  "We 
have  no  such  influence;  the  influence  must  come  from 
within,  not  from  without.  And  is  it  not  probable  that 
the  young  men  became  revolutionists  in  the  hope  that 
a  republic  will  grant  them  just  laws  which  are  denied 
under  the  rule  of  the  Emperor?"  M.  de  Witte  answered : 
"The  revolutionists  cannot  succeed.  Some  day  a  re- 
public may  be  established,  but  we  will  not  live  to  see 
the  day,  for  the  Romanoffs  will  rule  Russia  for  at  least 
another  hundred  years." 

In  his  memoirs  Count  de  Witte  wrote:  "At  Ports- 
mouth I  received  among  other  deputations  a  group  of 
representatives  of  American  Jews  *  *  *  I  re- 
ceived them  very  cordially  and  listened  with  attention 
to  what  they  had  to  say.  The  spokesman  of  the  dep- 
utation called  my  attention  to  the  exceedingly  painful 
situation  of  the  Jews  in  Russia  and  to  the  necessity  of 
putting  a  stop  to  the  deplorable  state  of  affairs  by 
granting  them  full  rights.  *  *  *  I  did  not  deny  that 
the  Jews  in  Russia  were  in  a  very  difficult  position. 
Nevertheless,  I  argued  an  immediate  and  complete  re- 
moval of  the  legal  disabilities  would,  in  my  opinion,  do 
them  more  harm  than  good.  To  this  remark  Jacob 
Schiff  made  a  sharp  retort  which  was,  however,  toned 
down  by  the  more  balanced  judgment  of  the  other 
members  of  the  deputation." 


158  REMINISCENCES 

M.  de  Witte  said  that  if  we  desired  to  meet  him 
again  we  could  do  so  in  New  York  City  before  he  left 
for  home  and  that  he  would  let  us  know  the  day  of  his 
departure.  After  my  return  home  from  Portsmouth  I 
received  the  following  letter: 

ur.        _.     t,  "New  Castle,  N.  H.,  August  17,  1905. 

Dear  Mr.  Kraus: 

"  I  am  officially  instructed  by  his  Excellency,  M.  de  Witte,  to 
inform  you  and  the  gentlemen  who  met  him  with  you,  that 
after  your  departure  he  cabled  to  St.  Petersburg  in  order  to  in- 
quire whether  any  changes  were  made  in  connection  with  the 
articles  concerning  '  the  rights  of  the  Jews  to  elect  and  be  elected 
in  the  proposed  National  Assembly.'  His  Excellency  received 
by  cable  answer  that  no  changes  took  place  and  that  the  project 
is  approved  by  his  Majesty,  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  will  be 
published  very  shortly.  Therefore  this  cable  confirms  M.  Witte's 
statement  that  the  Jews  will  have  the  same  right  as  the 
rest  of  the  population  to  elect  and  be  elected  in  the  National 

Assembly.     I  remain,  0.  - 

Sincerely  yours. 

Gregory  Wilenkin." 

The  peace  terms  between  Russia  and  Japan  were 
settled  in  Portsmouth  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
respective  Governments.  Three  of  us  met  M.  de 
Witte  in  New  York  the  day  before  he  sailed  for  home. 
He  assured  us  he  would,  so  far  as  he  was  able,  help  in 
improving  the  situation  of  our  people  in  Russia.  A 
reporter  of  the  New  York  American  interviewed  M.  de 
Witte  and  reported  him  as  saying: 

"When  I  came  to  this  country  one  of  the  things  which  in- 
terested me,  secondary  only  to  the  immediate  matters  in  hand, 
was  the  condition  of  the  Jews  in  the  United  States,  and  especially 
the  Russian  Jews.  I  could  not  leave  my  duties  in  Portsmouth, 
but  my  desire  was  so  strong  to  discuss  certain  questions  with 
representative  Jewish  gentlemen  of  the  United  States  that  I  in- 
vited several  of  them  to  meet  me  in  a  conference  at  Portsmouth. 
They  courteously  acceded  to  my  request. 

"That  conference  was  enlightening  and  profitable  to  me, 
but  the  field  of  discussion  was  large  and  time  pressing,  and  I  re- 
quested that  another  meeting  be  arranged  before  my  departure 


THE  JEW  159 

for  Russia,  and  without  regard  to  the  outcome  of  the  peace 
negotiations  at  Portsmouth.  In  accordance  with  that  arrange- 
ment I  again  met  some  of  the  Jewish  gentlemen  this  morning. 
I  should  rather  that  they,  who  have  a  command  of  the  English 
language  and  a  better  understanding  of  conditions,  should  speak 
with  reference  to  what  passed  between  us.  We  seemed  to  be 
in  accord  in  many  matters. 

"I  cannot  speak  authoritatively.  I  can  only  express  my 
wishes  and  hopes.  If  they  are  of  interest  to  the  American 
people,  including  Jewish  citizens,  I  shall  say  to  them  as  a  fare- 
well message: 

"I  hope  that  my  visit  to  America  shall  not  be  fruitless  of 
results  with  regard  to  what  I  have  learned  about  the  Jews  here, 
and  the  information  I  have  obtained." 

When  M.  de  Witte  returned  home,  the  Czar  con- 
ferred on  him  the  title  of  Count  and  appointed  him 
Premier.  In  October  of  the  same  year  a  revolution 
was  started  in  Russia.  Premier  Witte  as  shown  by  his 
memoirs  published  in  1921,  made  to  the  Emperor 
among  other  recommendations  the  following: 

"Believing  that  Russia  aspires  to  laws  based  on  civil  liberty, 
the  chief  problem  of  the  Government  consists  in  making  effec- 
tive, even  before  approval  by  the  State  Douma,  of  all  elements 
of  civil  liberty  in  the  elaboration  of  normal  legislative  measures 
giving  equality  before  the  laws  to  all  Russians,  without  distinc- 
tion of  race  or  of  religion." 

While  the  revolution  was  in  progress  the  Emperor 
granted  to  the  Russian  people  what  purported  to  be  a 
constitution. 

On  October  30,  1905,  the  New  York  Times  published 

the  following : 

"The  people  have  won  the  day.  The  Emperor  has  surren- 
dered. The  autocracy  has  ceased  to  exist.  A  Constitution  was 
signed  at  Peterhof  at  4  o'clock  this  afternoon.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  the  grant  of  civic  freedom,  extended  suffrage,  a  legisla- 
tive Douma,  and  Ministerial  responsibility,  with  M.  Witte  as 
Premier,  and  the  consequent  disappearance  of  the  bureaucracy, 
which  will  be  promulgated  tomorrow,  will  satisfy  the  victorious 
revolutionary  leaders,  who  demanded  nothing  less  than  universal 
suffrage  and  a  constituent  assembly." 


160  REMINISCENCES 

The  immediate  result  of  the  granting  of  the  Constitu- 
tion was  a  celebration.  How  did  the  Russian  people 
celebrate?     I  quote  from  published  reports: 

"November  1,  1905 — In  the  midst  of  rejoicing  in  Odessa, 
the  unruly  mob  took  the  trouble  to  attack  the  Jewish  quarters. 
Fighting  occurred  during  the  night  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town. 
A  mob,  incited  by  the  police,  attacked  the  Jews,  and  it  is  reported 
that  hundreds  were  killed  and  wounded.  It  is  known  that 
thirty-seven  were  killed  and  eighty-one  seriously  injured  in 
Dalmnitskoya  street.  A  huge  crowd  is  now  collecting  at  the 
port  preparatory  to  a  march  through  the  city  and  the  mob 
threatens  to  kill  all  the  Jews.  Shops  are  closed  and  windows 
and  doors  barricaded.  The  situation  is  the  most  serious  one 
that  has  been  experienced  since  the  beginning  of  the  strike. 

"Jew-baiting  at  Kief  began  at  midnight  on  Wednesday. 
Many  shops  were  wrecked  and  plundered.  Not  a  shop  escaped. 
The  crowd  fought  for  possession  of  the  plunder,  which  included 
jewelry  and  watches.  The  patrols  who  were  constantly  passing 
watched  the  mob  smilingly  and  did  not  interfere.  The  police 
and  Cossacks  joined  in  the  plundering. 

"Rioting  began  again  on  Thurdsay.  The  Jews  fired  on  their 
attackers  and  the  troops  from  their  houses.  Their  fire  was  re- 
turned. Some  houses  were  stormed  and  their  occupants  thrown 
into  the  streets.  The  residences  of  many  wealthy  Jews  have 
been  wrecked. 

"After  constant  and  indiscriminate  firing  in  various  parts  of 
Odessa  martial  law  was  nominally  reimposed,  but  there  was  no 
serious  effort  to  enforce  it.  In  the  Jewish  quarter  the  riots  took 
an  anti-Semitic  shape.  The  Jews  retaliated,  and  hurled  missiles 
from  their  windows  on  the  infuriated  mobs.  Some  had  revolvers 
and  used  them. 

"Rumor  places  the  number  killed  Wednesday  at  between 
500  and  1000.  None  of  the  reports  can  be  verified.  Nothing  like 
a  connected  account  of  the  day's  doings  is  possible.  According 
to  some  accounts  the  Cossacks  have  been  helping  the  mob,  which 
everybody  believes  was  organized  and  led  by  police  in  mufti. 

"It  is  reported  that  ferocious  attacks  have  been  made  upon 
the  Jews  at  Simferopol,  and  that  many  were  killed  and  wounded 
and  their  houses  and  shops  were  burned.     Similar  reports  come 
from  Kishineff,  but  they  are  not  confirmed." 
#        *        *        * 

"Numerous  outbreaks  followed  against  the  Jews  that  pale 
into  significance  the  riots  of  the  '80's.  In  the  great  crisis  that 
is  now  confronting  Russia  the  Jews  are  the  first  victims.     Men, 


THE  JEW  161 

women  and  children,  slaughtered;  pillage  and  rapine;  a  supine 
government  where  it  is  not  fomenting  the  disorders. 

"Almost  the  entire  Jewish  quarters  of  Moldavanha,  Slobodka 
and  Bugaiovka  are  devastated,  and  their  inhabitants  have  either 
been  killed  or  wounded  or  have  sought  refuge  in  other  parts  of 
the  town.  The  whole  fury  of  the  mobs  was  directed  unchecked 
against  the  Jews.  During  the  first  demonstration  over  the 
Emperor's  manifesto  and  the  sudden  acquisition  of  'freedom,' 
tens  of  thousands  of  men,  who  had  hated  the  Jews  for  years, 
became  drunk  with  the  desire  for  Jewish  blood,  swarmed  into 
the  Jewish  sections  of  the  town  and  killed  for  the  very  joy  of 
killing,  even  finding  solace  in  some  instances  in  the  military 
aiding  instead  of  preventing  the  work  of  vengeance  and  fury. 
Every  Jew,  man,  woman  or  child,  who  was  caught,  was  slaugh- 
tered. The  methods  employed  in  the  work  of  butchery  were 
too  revolting  for  description. 

"A  trip  of  investigation  on  Friday  evening,  Nov.  3,  over  the 
Odessa  Jewish  quarters  confirmed  the  stories  of  horror  and  de- 
vastation. Some  bodies,  mutilated,  of  women  and  children  were 
still  unremoved  from  deserted  streets.  The  shops  were  closed, 
and  in  the  wrecked  houses  broken  furniture  was  lying  every- 
where in  heaps. 

'  'While  it  is  probable  that  the  total  number  of  persons  killed 
will  never  be  known,  the  number  of  wounded  persons  in  the 
hospitals  and  ambulance  houses  afford  some  guide.  The  5,657 
wounded  reported  up  to  this  morning  were  distributed  as  follows: 
In  the  Jewish  Hospital,  3,715;  in  the  municipal  hospital,  1,260, 
and  in  different  ambulance  houses,  682.  It  has  been  definitely 
learned  that  only  120  of  the  anti-Jewish  mob  were  killed. 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  massacres  the  students'  militia  gave 
some  assistance  and  saved  many  lives,  but  the  police,  it  is  said, 
disarmed  the  students,  and  in  some  cases  shot  them  with  their 
own  revolvers. 

"The  disaster  is  unprecedented,  even  in  the  long  list  of  horrors 

Russia  has  produced  during  the  last  few  years,  but  the  citizens, 

while  still  nervous,  are  facing  the  situation  bravely.     They  are 

organizing  relief  committees  and  erecting  refuges  for  the  homeless 

families  and  orphaned  children  who  were  saved  from  the  fury 

of  the  mobs." 

*       *       *       * 

"The  latest  accounts  of  the  devastation  in  the  Jewish  quarter 
of  Odessa,  tell  of  added  horror.  Besides  numerous  mills,  all  the 
bakeries,  shops  and  nearly  six  hundred  homes  have  been  de- 
stroyed. The  Jews  killed  in  every  instance  were  treated  with 
revolting  barbarity.  Skulls  were  battered  with  hammers,  nails 
were  driven  into  the  bodies,  eyes  were  gouged  out  and  ears 


162  REMINISCENCES 

severed.  Many  bodies  were  disemboweled,  and  in  some  cases 
petroleum  was  poured  over  sick  persons  found  hiding  in  cellars, 
and  they  were  burned.  It  is  alleged  that  the  police  and  soldiers 
everywhere  marched  at  the  head  of  mobs,  exciting  them  to  destroy 
the  Jews  by  crying:  'The  Jews  have  killed  our  Emperor, 'and 
similar  expressions.  While  the  mobs  were  engaged  in  the  slaugh- 
ter, the  soldiers  busied  themselves  pillaging  the  cash  and  jewels, 
leaving  the  household  goods  to  the  mobs.  The  owners  of  many 
houses  got  rid  of  the  bandits  by  the  payment  of  a  ransom  to 

the  police." 

*  *       *       * 

"A  mob  of  a  thousand  rioters  engaged  in  a  massacre  of  Jews 

in  Ismaili,  Bessarabia." 

*  *       *       * 

Jacob  H.  Schiff  cabled  to  Count  Witte  as  follows: 

"New  York,  Nov.  3,  1905. 
"Count  Witte,  St.  Petersburg. 

"The  American  people  stand  aghast  at  atrocities  in  Odessa 
and  elsewhere.  No  government  should  expect  the  moral  support 
of  other  nations  which  under  any  condition  permits  such  a 
situation  to  continue. 

Schiff." 

Mr.  Schiff  received  the  following  reply: 

"Petersburg,  Nov.  5,  1905. 
"Mr.  Schiff,  New  York. 

"The  Government  is  horrified  at  these  outrages.  You  know 
that  I  less  than  anyone  can  sympathize  with  such  savage  out- 
breaks. All  I  can  do  to  stop  the  disorder  is  done  but  as  long 
as  the  country  is  in  such  excited  state,  the  local  authorities  are 
often  powerless. 

Witte." 

Count  Witte's  answer  was  not  favorably  received. 
Public  opinion  was  that  the  Premier,  even  if  he  could 
not  have  prevented  the  outbreak,  was  in  position  to 
stop  the  outrages.     I  did  not  share  that  view. 

Jews  from  all  parts  of  the  world  were  anxious  to 
help,  but  the  only  thing  they  could  do  was  to  raise 
money  to  aid  the  survivors.  I  telegraphed  to  presi- 
dents of  a  number  of  Jewish  organizations  for  authority 


THE  JEW  163 

to  sign  their  names  to  an  appeal  for  funds,  and  the  fol- 
lowing appeal  was  promptly  issued. 

lirT,     ,     T  c  A        .  "Chicago,  Nov.  8,  1905. 

"To  the  Jews  of  America:  s' 

"The  victims  of  the  awful  riots  and  massacres  in  Russia  are 
not  all  numbered  with  the  dead.  The  living,  starving  survivors 
who  have  lost  their  breadwinners,  and  the  maimed  mutely  appeal 
to  a  pitying  world  for  aid.  Therefore  each  community  is  hereby 
requested  to  organize  at  once  for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds  to 
aid  these  destitute  victims.  Contributions  should  be  forwarded 
to  Mr.  Jacob  H.  Schiff  of  New  York  for  proper  distribution. 

Adolf  Kraus,  President  Independent  Order  B'nai  B'rith. 

Samuel  Woolner,  President  of  Union  of  American  Hebrew 
Congregations. 

Mrs.  Henry  Solomon,  President  Council  of  Jewish  Women. 

Dr.  H.  Pereira  Mendes,  President  of  Union  of  Orthodox 
Jewish  Congregations  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

Dr.  Joseph  Stolz,  President  of  Central  Conference  of  Ameri- 
can Rabbis. 

Dr.  Harry  Friedenwald,  President  of  Federation  of  American 
Zionists. 

Max  Stern,  Independent  Order  B'rith  Abraham. 

Samuel  Dorf,  Grand  Master  Order  B'rith  Abraham. 

Isaac  Anderson  Loeb,  Grand  Master,  District  No.  2,  Inde- 
pendent Order  Free  Sons  of  Israel." 

Shortly  after  the  massacres  took  place,  a  movement 
was  started  in  New  York  to  raise  a  fund  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enabling  the  Jews  of  Russia  to  buy  weapons  to 
defend  themselves  against  such  attacks,  and  when  thus 
attacked  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible.  That 
movement  found  many  sympathizers,  for  there  is  an 
inherent  desire  in  all  men  to  accord  to  everyone  the 
right  of  self-defense. 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Order  was  asked 
to  join  in  the  movement  to  raise  such  a  fund,  but  did 
not  approve  of  the  movement  and  adopted  the  follow- 
ing resolution: 

"We  condemn  and  denounce  the  atrocities  and  outrages 
committed  upon  our  unfortunate  co-religionists  in  Russia  and 
pledge  our  best  efforts  to  promote  all  legitimate  measures  for 


164  REMINISCENCES 

their  relief.  We,  however,  favor  only  the  employment  of  moral 
forces  and  legal  instrumentalities,  and  discountenance  any 
organized  effort  upon  the  part  of  our  co-religionists  outside  of 
Russia,  which  would  directly  or  indirectly  tend  to  aggravate 
the  present  disorders  of  that  country." 

That  this  position  of  the  Executive  Committee  was 
sound  was  subsequently  demonstrated  when  the  govern- 
ment of  Russia  caused  the  houses  and  synagogues  of 
our  co-religionists  to  be  searched  and  finding  some  guns 
and  ammunition,  confiscated  the  same  and  used  that 
fact  as  an  argument  against  granting  just  laws  to  our 
people,  claiming  that  the  arms  and  ammunition  found 
was  evidence  of  their  revolutionary  tendencies. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  pogrom  was  that  many 
children  were  made  orphans.  To  the  credit  of  the 
Jews  everywhere  be  it  said  that  every  community  was 
willing  to  take  care  of  some  of  them.  Our  Govern- 
ment kindly  consented  to  allow  the  pogrom  orphans  to 
be  landed,  but  none  of  the  orphans  were  sent  to  this 
country.  The  Jews  of  Germany  and  Austria  and  other 
European  countries  were  anxious  to  and  did  adopt  them 
and  raise  them  properly.  On  one  of  my  European  trips 
I  visited  the  Orphan  Home  in  Hamburg.  Two  bright 
young  boys  were  pointed  out  to  me  as  first  and  second 
in  their  class,  and  as  Russian  pogrom  orphans. 

In  February,   1906,   the  Russian  correspondent  of 

one  of  our  leading  newspapers  cabled  that  the  Black 

Hundred  were  planning  to  cause  a  pogrom  during  the 

coming  Easter  holidays,  in  comparison  with  which  all 

previous   pogroms   would   sink   into   insignificance.     I 

thereupon  wrote  to  Count  Witte  as  follows: 

"Chicago,  February  15,  1906. 
"Count  de  Witte,  St.  Petersburg,  Russia. 

uYour  Excellency:  You  will  doubtless  remember  the  inter- 
view   held    in    Portsmouth    between    yourself,    Messrs.    Schiff, 


THE  JEW  165 

Seligman,  Strauss,  Lewisohn  and  myself.  And  when  in  the 
City  of  New  York  three  of  us  bade  you  a  safe  return  to  your  home, 
you  stated  that  we  might  write  you  at  any  time  on  the  subject 
of  our  previous  discussion.  Accordingly,  I  now  avail  myself  of 
the  permission  so  kindly  given. 

"It  is  useless  to  dwell  at  any  length  on  the  terrible  mas- 
sacres of  Jews  in  Russia,  for  the  details  are  much  better  known 
to  you  than  to  me.  Your  Excellency  will  perhaps  remember 
my  suggestion  that  if  those  who  so  wantonly  massacred  the 
Jews,  or  aided  and  abetted  in  the  murders,  were  swiftly  and 
adequately  punished,  it  would  be  such  a  warning  to  others,  and 
such  a  clear  declaration  as  to  the  position  of  the  government 
that  it  would  tend  to  diminish  greatly  the  probability  of  a 
repetition  of  the  horrors.  That  we  have  not  read  of  any  strong 
measures  taken  to  punish  the  perpetrators  of  the  late  crimes, 
may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  government  felt  its  first  duty 
was  to  subdue  the  riots,  or  it  may  be  due  to  the  insufficiency  of 
the  information  which  the  press  has  been  able  to  obtain.  But, 
whatever  the  cause,  the  fact  has  caused  widespread  alarm  in 
this  country  that  the  massacre  of  Jews  in  Russia  is  to  continue, 
and  the  opinion  is  becoming  prevalent  that  no  Jew's  life  is  safe 
in  that  great  country.  As  a  result  of  the  growing  opinion  that 
if  the  lives  and  property  of  Jews  are  not  to  be  safeguarded  in  the 
land  in  which  their  ancestors  have  lived  for  generations,  and  of 
which  your  Excellency  is  Prime  Minister,  a  movement  is  being 
seriously  contemplated,  if  it  can  be  accomplished  according  to 
law,  for  the  removal  of  the  Jews  from  Russia,  or  at  least  of  as 
many  as  possible,  to  other  lands  where  they  will  be  permitted 
to  die  a  natural  death.  If  the  plans  for  such  a  movement  are 
put  into  effect,  the  Society  over  which  I  preside  will  take  an 
active  part.  The  immensity  of  such  an  undertaking  is  fully 
realized  and  it  should  be  executed  only  as  a  last  resort. 

"I  am,  therefore,  emboldened  to  address  myself  to  you  for 
the  information  upon  which  our  action  may  depend,  if  it  will  be 
deemed  proper  in  your  Excellency's  judgment,  that  such  in- 
formation should  be  given,  and  it  is  this:  Now,  since  it  appears 
that  the  government  has  restored  peace  in  its  land,  is  the  govern- 
ment in  position  to  protect  the  lives  and  property  of  Jews, 
equally  with  that  of  the  Christians,  and  to  punish  officials,  who 
fail  to  do  their  duty  in  not  taking  the  proper  measures  for  the 
protection  of  the  Jews,  so  as  to  prevent  further  massacres? 

"I  desire  to  avoid,  by  the  question  I  have  asked,  any  offense 
to  your  Excellency,  for  it  must  be  taken  for  granted  that  it  is 
the  intention  of  the  government  to  protect  the  lives  of  all  of  its 
subjects.  My  apology  for  the  inquiry  is  the  fact  that  Jews  have 
been  massacred  in  the  past  in  your  land,  and  that  reports  are 


166  REMINISCENCES 

now  published  in  the  newspapers  here  that  it  is  contemplated  to 
have  the  greatest  massacre  of  Jews  in  your  land  at  Easter  time 
the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  that  it  is  generally  believed  that  un- 
less the  government  is  in  position  to  stretch  out  its  mighty  arm 
and  to  protect  the  Jews  fully,  the  Jews  in  Russia  are  doomed. 
"I  have  the  honor  to  remain, 

With  respect, 

Adolf  Kraus" 

On  March  14th  following,  I  received  the  following 
cable  from  St.  Petersburg: 

"Adolf  Kraus: 

"I  am  sure  you  have  no  doubts  that  I  cannot  approve  violence, 
no  matter  against  whom  it  is  directed.  The  deplorable  events 
which  have  taken  place  were  the  result  of  riots.  You  may  be 
assured  the  Government  will  use  all  possible  measures  to  prevent 
violence  against  peaceable  inhabitants,  without  regard  to  what 
nationality  they  belong.  Count  Witte  „ 

The  following  day  the  Associated  Press  published  a 
dispatch  from  St.  Petersburg  to  the  effect  that  the  Czar 
was  reported  to  have  been  shocked  and  amazed  at  the 
revelations  of  Jewish  oppression  made  to  him,  and  as  a 
result  Premier  de  Witte  was  able  to  force  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior,  Duronovo,  to  issue  instructions  to  pre- 
vent further  massacres  of  Jews. 

On  April  25th  the  Chicago  Daily  News  published  the 
following  cable  from  its  correspondent  in  St.  Petersburg: 

"The  publication  of  a  letter  written  by  Adolf  Kraus  of  Chica- 
go, and  Premier  Witte's  reply  thereto  has  caused  a  sensation  in 
Russia.  The  entire  press  recognizes  the  Chicagoan's  communi- 
cation as  statesmanlike  and  humane. 

"A  gentleman  who  is  prominent  in  Jewish  circles  and  is  a 
member-elect  of  the  first  Douma,  which  is  soon  to  assemble, 
said  to  the  Daily  News  correspondent  today:  'Mr.  Kraus' 
letter  was  timely,  in  that  it  induced  the  authorities  to  take  mea- 
sures for  saving  the  lives  and  property  of  Jews  in  Russia."' 

Count  Witte  is  dead.  I  believe  he  was  a  man  of 
deep  humanitarian  sentiments  who  was  struggling 
against  almost  insurmountable  obstacles  for  the  welfare 


THE  JEW  167 

of  his  native  land.  His  widow  has  published  his  mem- 
oirs and  in  these  memoirs  are  related,  with  a  wealth  of 
detail,  some  of  the  things  which  he  hinted  at  in  our 
conversation,  and  a  graphic  account  of  his  later  strug- 
gles to  bring  Russia's  rulers  out  of  barbarism  in  their 
attitude  towards  their  Jewish  subjects. 

I  take  the  liberty  to  quote  very  briefly  a  small  por- 
tion of  what  he  wrote,  as  reflecting  his  own  attitude  of 
mind  toward  the  unfortunate  condition  of  the  Jews  in 
Russia,  and  his  efforts  to  help  them: 

"It  is  noteworthy  that  at  the  time  of  the  Russo-Japanese 
War  the  attitude  of  the  court  clique  and  of  the  Emperor  himself 
toward  England  was  one  of  strong  hostility.  This  was  due  to 
England's  agreement  with  Japan  and  also  to  the  fact  that  she 
furnished  refuge  to  the  Russian  revolutionists.  To  the  Japanese 
His  Majesty  was  in  the  habit  of  referring  as  macacoes  (monkeys), 
using  this  term  even  in  official  documents.  The  English  he 
called  Jews.  'An  Englishman',  he  liked  to  repeat,  'is  a  zhid 
(Jew)."' 

"The  Emperor  was  surrounded  by  avowed  Jew-haters  such 
as  Trepov,  Plehve,  Ignatyev,  and  the  leaders  of  the  Black 
Hundreds.  As  for  his  personal  attitude  toward  the  Jews,  I 
recall  that  whenever  I  drew  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
anti-Jewish  riots  should  not  be  tolerated,  he  either  was  silent  or 
remarked:  'But  it  is  they  themselves,  i.e.,  the  Jews  (His 
Majesty  always  used  the  opprobrious  "zhidy, "  instead  of  yevrei) 
that  are  to  blame.'  The  anti-Jewish  current  flowed  not  from 
below,  upward,  but  in  the  opposite  direction." 

3|C  5js  3|B  5}C 

"In  December,  1905,  an  atrocious  anti-Jewish  pogrom  broke 
out  at  Homel.  I  requested  Durnovo,  the  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior, to  institute  an  investigation.  It  revealed  that  the 
bloody  riot  was  organized,  in  a  most  efficient  manner,  by  secret 
service  agents  under  the  direction  of  the  local  officer  of  gendarmes, 
Count  Podgorichanic,  who  did  not  deny  his  role  in  the  affair.  I 
asked  Durnovo  to  report  the  findings  of  the  investigation  to  the 
Council  of  Ministers.  The  Council  sharply  condemned  the 
activity  of  the  governmental  secret  service  and  recommended  that 
Count  Podgorichanic  should  be  dismissed  and  tried.     *     *     *     * 

(The  Memoirs  of  Count  Witte— Doubleday,  Page  and  Company,  1921) 


168  REMINISCENCES 

The  minutes  were  in  due  course  submitted  to  His  Majesty.  With 
visible  displeasure  he  wrote  the  following  words  on  the  margin: 
'How  does  all  this  business  concern  me?'  *  *  *  *  Several 
months  later  I  learned  that  Count  Podgorichanic  was  chief  of 
police  in  one  of  the  Black  Sea  Cities. 

"In  his  attitude  toward  the  Jews,  as  in  all  other  respects,  the 
Emperor's  ideals  are  at  bottom  of  those  of  the  Black  Hundreds. 
The  strength  of  that  party  lies  precisely  in  the  fact  that  their 
Majesties  have  conceived  the  notion  that  those  anarachists  of 
the  Right  are  their  salvation." 

"The  patriotism  of  'the  Black  Hundreds'  is  purely  elemental; 
it  is  based  not  on  reason,  but  on  passion.  Most  of  their  leaders 
are  unscrupulous  political  adventurers  with  not  a  single  practical 
and  honest  political  idea,  and  all  their  efforts  are  directed  toward 
goading  and  exploiting  the  low  instincts  of  the  mob.  Being  under 
the  protection  of  the  two-winged  eagle,  this  party  may  be  able 
to  cause  appalling  riots  and  upheavals,  but  its  work  will  necessa- 
rily be  purely  destructive  and  negative. 

"It  is  the  embodiment  of  savage,  nihilistic  patriotism,  feed- 
ing on  lies,  slander,  and  deceit,  the  party  of  savage  and  cowardly 
despair,  devoid  of  the  manly  and  clear-eyed  spirit  of  creative- 
ness.  The  bulk  of  the  party  is  dark-minded  and  ignorant,  the 
leaders  are  unhanged  villains,  among  whom  there  are  some  titled 
noblemen  and  a  number  of  secret  sympathizers  recruited  from 
the  courtiers.  Their  welfare  is  made  secure  by  the  reign  of  law- 
lessness, and  their  motto  is:  'Not  we  for  the  people,  but  the 
people  for  the  good  of  our  bellies.'  *  *  *  *  And  the  poor 
misguided  Emperor  dreams  of  restoring  Russia's  grandeur  with 
the  aid  of  this  party!     Poor  Emperor! 

"In  this  connection  I  recall  the  Emperor's  shameful  telegram 
to  that  notorious  sharper,  Dubrovin,  the  president  of  the  Russian 
People's  Union  (a  'Black  Hundred'  organization),  dated  June 
3,  1907.  In  this  most  gracious  dispatch,  His  Majesty  expressed 
his  approval  of  Dubrovin's  actions  in  his  capacity  of  president 
of  the  Russian  People's  Union  and  assured  him  that  in  the 
future,  too,  he  would  lean  upon  that  band  of  cut-throats." 

*     *     *     * 

"General  Trepov  is  a  central  figure  in  our  revolution  and  must 
be  dealt  with  at  considerable  length.  Prince  Urusov  speaking 
before  the  first  Douma  characterized  him  as  '  a  quartermaster  by 
education  and  a  pogrom  maker  by  conviction.'" 

*     *     *     * 

"In  January,  or  perhaps  in  February,  1906,  Lopukhin, 
Director  of  the  Police  Department  under  Plehve,  had  a  formal 


THE  JEW  169 

conference  with  me,  in  the  course  of  which  he  imparted  to  me  a 
piece  of  startling  information.  He  knew  it  as  a  certainty,  he 
declared,  that  there  was  at  the  Police  Department  a  special 
section  headed  by  Captain  Komissarov,  which  was  engaged  in 
turning  out  proclamations  inciting  to  anti-Jewish  pogroms,  and 
in  disseminating  them  broadcast  in  the  country.  Only  the  other 
day,  he  said,  large  bales  of  this  literature  had  been  sent  to  Kursk, 
Wilna,  and  Moscow.  He  added  that  the  section  had  originated 
under  Trepov  and  had  been  directed  by  Rachkovski,  who  at  the 
time  was  still  connected  with  it." 

*     *     *     * 

"Odessa,  too,  was  seething  with  rebellion.  There  were  two 
special  causes  for  the  extreme  disorder  in  this  city.  In  the  first 
place,  the  Jews,  who  formed  a  large  proportion  of  its  inhabitants, 
supposed  that,  by  taking  advantage  of  the  general  confusion  and 
the  undermining  of  the  Government's  prestige,  they  would  be 
able  to  obtain  equal  rights  through  revolution.  At  this  time  only 
a  comparatively  small  number  of  the  Jews  were  active,  but  the 
overwhelming  majority,  having  lost  patience  long  before  by 
reason  of  the  many  injustices  practised  against  them,  sympathized 
with  the  so-called  emancipatory  movement,  which  was  now 
adopting  revolutionary  tactics.  In  the  second  place,  the  up- 
rising was  largely  provoked  by  the  brutality  of  the  Municipal 
Governor,  Neidhart,  who  was  bitterly  hated  by  most  of  the  in- 
habitants. Fitted  neither  by  education  nor  by  experience  for 
such  an  important  position,  he  had  been  appointed  simply  be- 
cause he  was  Stolypin's  brother-in-law,  the  same  reason  for 
which  he  was  later  made  senator." 

*     *     *     * 

"One  of  the  faults  with  which  I  have  been  charged  is  that 
during  my  premiership  I  did  not  shoot  enough  people  and  kept 
others  from  indulging  in  that  sport.  Whoever  hesitates  to  shed 
blood,  it  was  argued,  should  not  hold  so  responsible  a  post  as  I 
did.  But,  on  my  part,  I  consider  it  a  special  merit  that  during 
the  six  months  when  I  was  in  power  only  a  few  dozen  people 
were  killed  in  St.  Petersburg  and  no  one  executed.  In  the  whole 
of  Russia,  fewer  people  were  executed  during  those  months  than 
in  several  days  under  Stolypin,  when  officially  law  and  order 
prevailed  in  the  country.  History  will  condemn  the  reign  of 
Nicholas  II  for  the  indiscriminate  courtmartialing  of  men  and 
women,  adults  and  adolescents,  for  political  crimes  committed 
two,  three,  four  and  even  five  years  previous  to  the  execution." 

"In  connection  with  the  Department  of  Police,  a  printing 
press  was  set  up  for  turning  out  pogrom  proclamations  intended 


170  REMINISCENCES 

to  incite  the  dark  masses  mostly  against  the  Jews.  This  activity, 
to  which  I  put  an  end,  was  revealed  to  me  by  the  former  Director 
of  the  Police  Department,  Lopukhin,  who  is  now  in  exile  in 
Siberia.  But  in  the  provinces  this  activity  was  going  on  as  be- 
fore. Thus,  in  my  premiership  a  pogrom  was  perpetrated 
against  the  Jews  at  Homel.  The  riot  was  provoked  by  the 
gendarmerie.  When  I  discovered  this  shameful  incident,  and 
reported  it  to  the  Council  of  Ministers,  His  Majesty  wrote  on 
the  memorandum  about  this  affair  that  such  matters  should  not 
be  brought  to  his  attention  (as  too  trivial  a  subject)  —  -  -  The 
Emperor  must  have  been  influenced  in  this  case  by  the  Minister 

of  the  Interior,  Durnovo." 

*  *     *     * 

" Emperor  Alexander  III  asked  me  on  one  occasion:  'Is  it 
true  that  you  are  in  sympathy  with  the  Jews?'  'The  only  way 
I  can  answer  this  question,'  I  replied  to  the  Emperor,  'is  by 
asking  Your  Majesty  whether  you  think  it  possible  to  drown  all 
the  Russian  Jews  in  the  Black  Sea.  To  do  so  would,  of  course, 
be  a  radical  solution  of  the  problem.  But  if  Your  Majesty  will 
recognize  the  right  of  the  Jews  to  live,  then  conditions  must  be 
created  which  will  enable  them  to  carry  on  a  human  existence. 
In  that  case,  gradual  abolition  of  the  disabilities  is  the  only  ade- 
quate solution  of  the  Jewish  problem.'" 

*  *     *     * 

"As  Minister  of  Finance,  I  vigorously  opposed  all  measures 
intended  to  restrict  the  rights  of  the  Jews,  but  it  was  not  in  my 
power  to  repeal  the  existing  laws  against  the  Jews.  Many  of 
these  laws  were  unjust,  and  upon  the  whole,  these  laws  did  much 
harm  to  Russia  and  Russians.  In  dealing  with  the  Jewish  legis- 
lation, I  did  not  consider  primarily  the  advantage  to  be  derived 
from  a  certain  measure  by  the  Jewish  race.  What  was  foremost 
in  my  mind  was  the  effect  of  this  or  that  measure  upon  Russia 

as  a  whole." 

*  *     *     * 

"Among  the  most  implacable  enemies  of  the  Russian  Jews 
was  Grand  Duke  Sergey  Alexandrovich,  the  man  who,  by  his 
ultra-reactionary  and  near-sighted  policy,  drove  Moscow  into 
the  arms  of  the  revolutionists.  The  measures  which  the  Grand 
Duke  adopted  against  the  Jews  of  Moscow  the  Committee  of 
Ministers  refused  to  sanction,  so  that  they  had  to  be  passed 
either  by  special  commissions  or  directly  by  Imperial  decrees." 

*  *     *     * 

"The  whole  mass  of  the  legislation  regarding  the  Jews  con- 
sists of  legal  provisions  of  an  extremely  vague  character.  This 
circumstance  led  to  a  number  of  arbitrary  and  conflicting  inter- 


THE  JEW  171 

pretations,  which  became  a  source  of  all  manner  of  graft.  No 
element  of  the  population  is  so  thoroughly  mulcted  by  the  Ad- 
ministration as  the  Jews  are.  In  some  regions  the  graft  has 
assumed  the  form  of  a  veritable  tax  upon  the  Jews.  Under 
these  conditions,  the  whole  burden  of  the  anti-Jewish  policy 
falls  upon  the  poorer  class  of  the  Jews,  for  the  more  opulent  a 
Jew  is,  the  easier  it  is  for  him  to  smooth  his  way  by  means  of 
graft  and  the  less  he  feels  the  pressure  of  the  restrictive  measures. 
Not  only  do  the  wealthy  Jews  not  feel  the  oppression  of  their 
legal  disabilities,  but  they  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  a  domineer- 
ing position,  inasmuch  as  they  exert  influence  upon  the  high 

local  officials." 

*     *     *     * 

"All  this  naturally  rendered  the  Jewish  masses  revolutionary, 
especially  the  younger  element,  the  process  being  furthered  by 
the  Russian  schools.  From  the  pusillanimous  people  that  the 
Jews  were  some  thirty  years  ago  there  sprang  men  and  women 
who  threw  bombs,  committed  political  murders  and  sacrificed 
their  lives  for  the  revolution.' ' 


"It  is  my  profound  conviction  that  as  long  as  the  Jewish 
problem  is  handled  in  an  unstatesmanlike,  vindictive  and  non- 
humanitarian  fashion,  Russia  will  remain  in  a  state  of  unrest 

and  upheaval." 

*     *     *     * 

"The  Anti- Jewish  legislation  of  1882  is  identified  with  the 
name  of  Count  N.  P.  Ignatyev.  He  did  much  harm  to  the 
country  by  pursuing  a  ruthless  anti-Jewish  policy." 

"The  'pogroms,'  that  peculiar  feature  of  the  Jewish  question 
in  Russia,  raged  with  particular  violence  under  Ignatyev.  Count 
Tolstoy  at  once  put  an  end  to  them.  Under  Plehve  the  tide 
of  pogroms  again  rose  high.  Especially  brutal  and  revolting  was 
the  anti-Jewish  outbreak  at  Kishinev.  I  would  not  venture  to 
say  that  Plehve  personally  and  directly  organized  these  pogroms, 
but  he  did  not  oppose  these,  in  his  opinion,  counter-revolutionary 
outbreaks.  When  the  Kishinev  pogroms  roused  the  public 
opinion  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  Plehve  entered  into  negotia- 
tions with  the  Jewish  leaders  in  Paris  and  also  with  the  Russian 
rabbis.  What  he  told  them  amounted  to  the  following:  'Make 
your  people  stop  their  revolutionary  activity,  and  I  will  stop 
the  pogroms  and  abolish  the  Jewish  disabilities.'  'The  situation 
is  beyond  our  control,'  was  the  reply.  'The  young  element, 
crazed  by  hunger,  is  out  of  hand.  BUT  should  a  policy  of  re- 
lieving the  oppression  of  the  Jews  be  inaugurated,  we  believe 


172  REMINISCENCES 

that  the  unrest  among  the  people  will  subside. '  Plehve  appears 
to  have  heeded  these  words  and  assumed  a  more  liberal  attitude 
toward  the  Jews,  but  he  was  soon  assassinated." 


"It  is  noteworthy  that  during  my  premiership  the  question 
of  the  percentage  of  Jewish  students  was  raised  by  the  Minister 
of  Education,  Count  Tolstoy,  but  his  purpose  was  to  remove  the 
measures  which  restricted  the  educational  opportunities  of  the 
Jews.  Count  Tolstoy  laid  before  the  Council  of  Ministers  a 
bill  for  the  abolition  of  these  restrictions.  He  argued  from  the 
premise,  which  to  my  mind  is  perfectly  correct,  that  the  most 
natural  solution  of  the  Jewish  question  is  the  assimilation  of  the 
race  through  Russian  education.  After  a  lengthy  discussion  the 
Council  of  Ministers  decided  in  favor  of  the  bill.  But  the  Em- 
peror refused  to  sanction  it.  *  *  *  This  case  aptly  illus- 
trates the  difference  between  the  Jewish  policy  of  my  Cabinet 
and  that  of  Stolypin's.  It  is  true  that  at  the  beginning  of  his 
administration  Stolypin  was  inclined  to  abolish  some  of  the 
existing  Jewish  disabilities.  He  drafted  a  memorandum  on  the 
subject  and  submitted  it  to  His  Majesty,  but  the  Emperor 
again  postponed  the  matter.  In  1907  the  Council  of  Ministers 
under  Stolypin's  presidency  took  up  the  question  of  Jewish 
disabilities  and  adopted  a  resolution  that  it  was  necessary  to 
enter  upon  the  road  of  gradual  abolition  of  the  existing  restric- 
tions.    The  minutes  of  this  session  His  Majesty  refused  to  sign. 

"A  year  later  Stolypin  reversed  his  policy  and  gradually 
there  arose  in  Russia  an  intense  movement  against  the  Jews, 
which  is  both  un-Christian  and  politically  indefensible.  At 
present  Jew-baiting  is  at  its  worst,  and  I  believe  that  the  baiters 
themselves  hardly  know  whither  they  are  headed  and  what  they 
intend  to  achieve  by  this  ruthless  persecution." 


During  his  visit  to  Chicago,  Grand  Duke  Boris  of 
Russia  was  the  guest  of  honor  at  a  dinner  given  at  the 
country  residence  of  my  friend,  Harry  Rubens.  I  was 
among  the  invited  guests.  Mr.  Rubens  had  engaged 
a  special  train  to  take  us  back  to  Chicago  and  Baron 
Schlipenbach,  the  Russian  Consul,  seated  me  next  to 
the  Grand  Duke.  In  the  course  of  our  conversation, 
I  told  him  that,  judging  from  published  reports,  it  was 
apparent  that  the  Jews  of  Russia  were  not  favorably 


THE  JEW  173 

considered  by  the  non-Jews.  "I  have  never  been  in 
Russia,"  I  said.  "The  only  Russian  Jews  I  know  are 
those  I  have  met  in  America.  Knowing  them  as  I  do, 
I  cannot  understand  why  there  should  be  such  bitter- 
feeling  against  them  in  Russia."  I  asked  him  whether 
he  had  had  the  opportunity  to  meet  and  talk  with 
Russian  Jewish  immigrants  who  had  become  estab- 
lished in  America  and  told  him  that  I  would  like  to 
invite  a  number  of  my  co-religionists  who  had  immi- 
grated from  Russia  or  whose  parents  had  done  so  to  a 
luncheon  so  that  he  might  see  for  himself  what  good 
citizens  they  become  when  offered  the  advantages  of  a 
friendly  environment.     He  accepted. 

On  the  day  set  for  the  luncheon,  I  called  for  him  at 
the  hotel  where  he  was  stopping.  The  first  thing  he 
said  after  we  were  seated  in  the  carriage  was,  "How 
do  you  like  my  necktie?"  Naturally,  I  was  very  much 
surprised  but  assured  the  Duke  that  it  was  a  very 
beautiful  cravat.  My  surprise  was  soon  over,  for  he 
replied,  "On  my  visit  to  Paris,  Baroness  Rothschild 
made  this  necktie  for  me  and  presented  it  to  me."  I 
inferred  that  in  this  manner  he  intended  to  convey  to 
me  that  he  had  accepted  before  coming  to  this  country 
hospitality  extended  to  him  by  people  of  my  faith. 

At  the  luncheon,  to  which  I  had  invited  about  forty 
Chicago  Jews,  the  majority  of  them  of  Russian  descent, 
the  Grand  Duke  outdid  himself  in  affability  and  ami- 
ability. He  had  a  few  words  to  say  to  each  one  as  my 
guests  were  introduced  to  him  and  responded  most 
cordially  to  a  toast  to  his  health. 

The  Grand  Duke  was  very  much  feted  during  his 
visit,  but  out  of  caution  the  exact  time  for  his  departure 
from  the  city  was  not  announced.     On  the  day  he  left, 


174  REMINISCENCES 

the  Russian  Consul  sent  word  to  Mr.  Rubens  and  my- 
self of  the  exact  time  of  the  Grand  Duke's  departure, 
stating  that  he  thought  we  might  wish  to  go  to  the 
station  to  bid  him  goodbye.  On  arriving  there,  we 
found  that  we  were  the  only  two  who  had  been  so 
invited. 

Some  weeks  afterwards,  one  of  the  gentlemen  who 
had  attended  the  luncheon  called  on  me  and  asked  for 
my  photograph.  Knowing  him  well,  I  complied  with 
his  request.  He  then  explained  the  reason  for  his  re- 
quest. It  appeared  that  he  had  written  to  his  father 
in  Russia  telling  him  that  Grand  Duke  Boris  had 
broken  bread  in  Chicago  with  Jews  of  Russian  origin; 
that  this  to  his  father  seemed  a  most  remarkable  and 
portentous  event,  and  that  he  wished  to  do  honor  to 
the  man  who  had  conceived  the  idea,  by  placing  his 
photograph  on  the  wall  of  his  room  next  to  the  Miz- 
rach.  The  fond  hopes  of  my  friend's  father  that  as  a 
result  of  the  luncheon  meeting  the  Grand  Duke  might 
achieve  a  better  understanding  of  the  Russian  subjects 
of  Jewish  faith,  were,  however,  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment, for  some  years  later  when  another  pogrom  was 
threatened  in  Russia,  I  took  the  liberty  of  appealing  to 
the  Grand  Duke  on  behalf  of  our  people.  But  while 
the  Grand  Duke  in  America  was  a  hail-fellow  well  met — 
in  Russia  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Romanoff. 
That  appeal  was  to  him  merely  a  letter  from  ''only  a 
Jew."     The  Jew  did  not  receive  an  answer. 

Harry  Rubens  and  I  were  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1877.  Soon  thereafter  we  were  associated  in  the  de- 
fense of  twenty-one  Bohemians  as  stated  in  Chapter  II 
of  these  reminiscences.  From  that  time  on  until  he 
died  we  were  loyal  friends.     Some  of  my  co-religionists 


THE  JEW  175 

thought  he  was  a  Jew,  although  he  had  no  Jewish  fea- 
tures, was  not  a  Jew  nor  of  Jewish  descent.  In  his 
younger  days  he  was  private  secretary  to  Carl  Schurz. 
He  became  a  very  able  and  successful  lawyer,  and  was 
recognized  as  a  leader  in  public  affairs.  He  received 
high  decorations  from  the  King  of  Bavaria,  the  Em- 
peror of  Austria  and  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  When 
my  friends  celebrated  with  me  my  70th  birthday,  he 
was  at  home  sick.  It  was  his  last  illness.  I  hope  I 
will  be  pardoned  for  adding  to  these  reminiscences  his 

letter  which  is  as  follows : 

"February  28,  1920. 
"My  dear  Friend  Kraus: 

"In  one  of  the  German  papers  I  read  an  account  of  the  banquet 
which  had  been  arranged  by  many  of  your  friends  on  the  occasion 
of  your  seventieth  anniversary. 

"If  I  had  had  the  honor  of  an  invitation  my  felicitations  would 
have  been  more  timely,  although  I  assure  you,  they  could  not 
possibly  have  been  more  hearty.  Our  acquaintance,  and  I 
dare  say,  our  friendship  dates  back  fully  forty  years  and  I  could 
not  possibly  recollect  a  single  event  in  this  long  space  of  time, 
which  could  have  marred  the  high  esteem  as  well  as  the  genuine 
attachment  which  I  have  always  entertained  for  you. 

"Your  life's  work  has  been  a  great  success,  particularly  in 
view  of  the  limited  facilities  with  which  we  started  out.  You 
have  conquered  great  difficulties,  achieved  an  honored  position 
at  the  bar,  accomplished  an  enviable  degree  of  business  success, 
and  at  the  same  time  lost  no  opportunity  to  give  the  very  best 
that  is  in  you  to  the  relief  of  your  fellowmen — and  now,  at  three 
score  and  ten,  you  are  still  vigorous  enough  to  continue  with 
unabaited  interest  your  professional  and  charitable  work. 

"May  a  kind  fate  preserve  you  for  a  goodly  number  of  years 
to  come  is  the  sincere  wish  of  your  old  friend, 

"Harry  Rubens" 

In  1906  I  received  from  a  reliable  source  in  Roumania 

the  following  report: 

"In  the  beginning  of  March  of  this  year  signs  of  an  anti- 
Semitic  movement  were  noticed  along  the  Moldavia.  The 
authorities  remained  passive  and  so  it  came  about  that  one  day 
several  hundred  peasants  entered  the  little  town  of  Poduloaci 


176  REMINISCENCES 

near  Jassy  and  plundered  according  to  their  hearts'  desire.  All 
stores  kept  by  Jews  were  destroyed  and  robbed,  and  the  Jews, 
including  women  and  children,  were  maltreated.  One  Jew  re- 
ceived serious  injury.  The  rioting  began  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  At  three  in  the  afternoon  a  Major  in  charge  of  100 
men  of  cavalry  stationed  in  the  town,  fired  three  revolver  shots 
into  the  air  and  immediately  as  though  this  had  been  a  signal 
agreed  upon,  the  plundering  stopped.  One  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  Jewish  families  in  that  town  suffered  a  loss  of  100,000 
francs,  which,  considering  the  poverty  of  the  people,  was  a  con- 
siderable sum.  A  very  few  days  afterwards  a  similar  occurrence 
was  reported  in  the  City  of  Botoschani,  only  in  a  greater  degree. 
Eleven  hundred  and  fifty-nine  families  lost  their  property 
amounting  to  half  a  million  francs.  Twenty-one  Jews  were 
wounded  and  had  to  be  taken  to  the  hospital. 

"After  that  the  anti-Semitic  movement  spread  with  lightning 
rapidity  over  the  entire  Moldavia.  After  Botoschani,  where 
the  poor  Jews,  for  fear  of  personal  violence,  hid  in  cellars  for  two 
days  and  where  Jewish  merchants  did  not  re-open  their  stores  for 
ten  days,  the  Jews  in  the  town  of  Vordugeni  were  attacked,  in 
which  four  hundred  and  eight  Jewish  families  suffered  the  loss  of 
611,000  francs.  The  Jews  in  the  towns  of  Buccecea  and  Bedeni 
were  attacked.  In  the  district  of  Botochani  one  thousand, 
eight  hundred  and  eighty-six  Jewish  families  were  plundered  of 
property  valued  at  3,000,000  francs.  In  the  District  of  Jassy 
the  Jewish  inhabitants  of  Vivolari  and  Tziganaschi,  in  all  one 
hundred  and  seven  families,  suffered  a  loss  of  100,000  francs. 
Similar  treatment  was  accorded  to  the  Jews  in  Pungesti,  Negresti, 
Panciu,  Ivesti,  Bacesti,  Lespezi,  Rosnov,  Bozieni,  Buhusi, 
Blagesti,  Draguscheni,  Bujor  and  Rogojeni.  In  the  Walachia 
similar  attempts  were  made  by  the  peasant,  but  only  in  the  city 
of  Alexandria,  inhabited  by  about  twenty  Jewish  families,  the 
plundering  was  done  by  reservists.  The  destruction  there  was 
so  thorough  that  a  Jewish  merchant  who  had  a  large  porcelain 
and  glassware  store  was  compelled  to  borrow  glasses  from  a 
neighbor  for  Passover.  The  damage  to  those  few  Jews  who  lived 
in  that  town  amounted  to  about  200,000  francs.  Their  little 
synagogue  was  destroyed  and  the  Shochet  who  attempted  to 
save  the  Torah  was  seriously  injured.  In  all  there  were  anti- 
Semitic  outbreaks  in  sixteen  Roumanian  districts.  The  total 
number  of  families  affected  is  three  thousand,  three  hundred 
and  two.  The  damage  is  estimated  2,679,050  francs  and  the 
total  of  persons  injured  is  forty-five. 

"Immediately  after  the  outbreak  of  this  anti-Semitic  move- 
ment the  Jews  living  in  the  villages  sought  refuge  in  the  larger 
cities,  but  when  they  wanted  to  return  to  their  villages  the 


THE  JEW  177 

authorities  did  not  permit  them  to  do  so.  The  position  of 
those  fugitives  is  critical  as  they  have  no  prospect  for  work. 
The  authorities  not  only  did  not  allow  the  Jews  to  return  to  the 
villages  in  which  they  and  their  ancestors  had  lived  for  genera- 
tions but  even  ordered  them  to  leave  the  rural  districts,  including 
in  that  order  those  who  had  done  the  state  service  in  the  army. 
Even  Jews  who  were  drafted  in  the  army  to  quell  the  riots,  when 
they  returned  to  their  respective  villages  were  ordered  to  leave. 

"The  question  presents  itself  to  us,  what  shall  we  do  with 
those  who  are  driven  from  their  homes? 

"On  the  5th  day  of  May  a  conference  took  place  in  Vienna 
of  the  representatives  of  organizations  of  other  lands  and  repre- 
sentative Roumanians,  to  consider  what  aid  could  be  given.  It 
was  decided  to  raise  500,000  francs.  125,000  francs  has  been 
forwarded  from  the  United  States  from  Roumanians  residing 
there,  25,000  francs  was  contributed  from  Roumanians  here. 
It  is  expected  that  Austria,  Germany,  France  and  England  will 
contribute  equal  sums.  It  was  decided  to  make  good  fifteen 
per  cent  of  the  loss  to  each  of  our  co-religionists.  From  the  Rou- 
manian government  nothing  is  to  be  expected." 

The  Government  of  Roumania  claimed  that  the  up- 
rising of  the  peasants  was  general  and  not  directed 
against  the  Jews,  but  from  documents  in  my  possession 
I  was  convinced  that  the  peasants  and  the  Jews  lived 
peaceably  but  that  the  peasants  who  were  robbed  of 
their  labor  by  the  nobility  and  officials  were  instigated 
by  their  oppressors  to  indulge  in  an  anti-Semitic  move- 
ment as  a  relief  measure.  The  only  thing  we  could 
do  was  to  render  financial  relief,  which  was  promptly 
done. 

In  1907  it  was  charged  in  a  monthly  magazine  that 
a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  so-called  ghetto  in 
the  City  of  Chicago  made  their  living  by  trafficking  in 
women.  Upon  investigation  it  was  found  that  there 
was  some  truth  in  the  charge.  At  my  request  the 
police  department  made  a  thorough  investigation  and 
found  that  of  the  traffickers  in  women  in  that  district 
about  twenty  per  cent  were  Jews.     There  was  no  law 


178  REMINISCENCES 

in  existence  at  the  time  against  such  traffic.  We 
drafted  what  is  now  known  as  "The  Pandering  Act," 
caused  it  to  be  introduced  in  the  Illinois  Legislature, 
and  by  unanimous  vote  it  became  a  law.  Other  states 
soon  after  adopted  similar  laws. 

As  soon  as  the  law  was  adopted,  on  behalf  of  the 
Order  I  employed  a  detective  to  arrest  and  an  attorney 
to  prosecute  offenders  against  that  law.  I  organized 
the  so-called  Committee  of  Fifteen  in  Chicago,  which 
is  still  in  existence,  the  majority  of  which  was  then  and 
still  is  composed  of  leading  Gentile  citizens.  The  de- 
tective was  instructed  by  me  that  before  he  attempted 
to  cause  the  arrest  of  a  Gentile  I  must  know  that  every 
Jew  engaged  in  that  business  was  in  jail. 

In  my  report  to  the  Order  I  said: 

"Our  efforts  must  be  to  the  end  that  there  shall  be  no  Jewish 
panderers.  Not  even  one  should  be  tolerated.  They  must  be 
sent  to  jail  and  do  penance.  They  must  be  ostracized.  The 
Jews  of  the  city  of  Omaha,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Order, 
succeeded  in  abolishing  pandering  in  that  city  without  adequate 
laws,  by  refusing  those  engaged  in  that  traffic  all  religious  rights, 
even  the  right  of  burial  in  a  Jewish  cemetery.  We  owe  it  to  our- 
selves as  citizens  of  this  country  and  to  generations  yet  to  come, 
to  let  no  guilty  person  escape." 

In  describing  the  conditions  of  the  Jews  in  Gal- 
icia  I  wrote:  "The  condition  of  the  Jews  in  Galicia 
is  deplorable.  The  poverty  among  the  very  large 
Jewish  population  of  that  land  is  indescribable.  Ac- 
cording to  the  last  census  there  are  811,371  Jews  in 
Galicia,  of  which  one  third  consists  of  beggars  and  the 
great  majority  of  the  other  two  thirds  of  so-called 
'Luft  Menschen,  (persons  who  are  very  poor).  The 
country  itself  is  poor,  has  but  few  industries,  and  in  the 
few  industries  that  do  exist  the  Jews  have  very  little 
chance  for  work,  owing  to  the  anti-Semitic  agitation 


THE  JEW  179 

carried  on  by  the  Polish  trade  societies  to  which  Jews 
are  not  admitted. 

"  Owing  to  their  extreme  poverty  consumption  rages 
among  the  Jews  of  Galicia.  In  Silesia,  German- 
Poland,  the  annual  death  rate  is  13.01  in  every  one 
thousand — in  Galicia,  Austria- Poland,  it  is  20.09. 
Consequently  there  are  annually  5,744  more  deaths 
among  the  Jews  in  Galicia  than  there  would  be  among 
an  equal  number  in  Silesia.  Lack  of  work  and  means 
causes  lack  of  food  and  unhealthy  habitations.  Result: 
the  unusualy  large  death  rate.  Constant  misery  caused 
by  poverty  weakens  not  only  the  body  but  the  morals 
of  a  people. 

"The  10th  District  of  the  Order  furnishes  money  to 
establish  industries  in  order  to  give  employment  to  the 
unfortunate ;  it  is  considered  that  the  girl  who  can  by  a 
hard  day's  work  earn  one  krone  (twenty  cents)  is 
earning  good  wages.  The  German  Hilfsverein,  the 
Austrian  Hilfsverein  and  the  German  Grand  Lodge 
are  also  aiding  to  some  extent  the  unfortunate  among 
our  people  in  that  land. 

"We  are  fighting  the  'White  Slave'  traffic.  Let  us 
help  to  close  up  the  markets  which  furnish  the  victims." 

On  March  30,  1908,  I  received  the  following  cable: 

"Port  Said, 
"Atrocities  against  Jews  at  Jaffa  by  local  Governor; 
twelve  Russians,  one  American  wounded,  some  fatally." 

I  wired  to  Elihu  Root,  Secretary  of  State,  kindly  to 
cause  an  investigation  to  be  made  as  to  whether  it  was 
true  that  an  American  citizen  had  been  wounded.  The 
Secretary  ordered  an  investigation  and  thereupon  the 
Government  of  Turkey  removed  the  Governor  of  Jaffa, 


180  REMINISCENCES 

who  was  an  anti-Semite.    I  received  an  acknowledge- 
ment from  Port  Said,  which  in  part  is  as  follows: 

"For  your  successful  assistance  in  the  Jaffa  affair,  I  desire  to 
thank  you  not  only  in  the  name  of  our  lodges,  but  also  desire  to 
express  to  you  the  heartfelt  thanks  of  all  the  Jews  here.  The 
fact  that  the  United  States  Government  demanded  official  in- 
formation by  cable  was  in  itself  sufficient  to  make  a  deep  im- 
pression at  Constantinople,  and  that  Government  lost  no  time 
in  disposing  of  the  affair." 

On  December  23,  1908,  I  wrote  to  Melville  E.  Stone, 
General  Manager  of  the  Associated  Press,  calling  his 
attention  to  the  fact  that  when  a  person  charged  with 
a  crime  happened  to  be  a  Jew,  the  Associated  Press 
always  mentioned  that  fact  but  did  not  mention  the 
religion  of  the  accused  when  he  happened  to  be  a 
member  of  some  other  faith;  and  that  I  was  confident 
that  the  mere  calling  his  attention  to  the  practice 
would  be  sufficient  to  stop  it.  I  received  the  follow- 
ing answer:  "  December  26,  1908. 
"My  dear  Mr.  Kraus: 

"I  have  yours  of  December  23rd.  I  think  your  suggestion  is 
a  perfectly  proper  one  and  I  see  no  reason  on  earth  why  we  should 
say  A.  B.  was  a  Jew  any  more  than  we  should  say  he  was  a  Metho- 
dist. Based  on  your  suggestions,  I  will  issue  precisely  the  in- 
structions you  indicate.  -Sincerely  yours, 

Melville  E.  Stone, 
General  Manager." 

In  1909  I  decided  to  study  the  condition  of  the 
B'nai  B'rith  Order  in  Europe,  to  visit  some  of  the 
lodges  and  learn  of  their  usefulness;  but  as  the  lodges 
did  not  meet  during  the  summer  I  started  with  my 
wife  on  our  journey  early  in  February,  and  following 
Mr.  Pickwick's  example  traveled  at  my  own  expense. 
Secretary  Seelenfreund  notified  the  lodges  that  I  would 
make  them  an  official  call.     In  every  city  we  visited 


THE  JEW  181 

we  were  royally  received.  Very  warm  friendship  and 
hospitality  were  shown  us  by  our  lodges  and  members 
everywhere  we  visited. 

The  first  inland  city  I  visited  was  Berlin.  A  meet- 
ing of  the  Berlin  lodges  was  called  to  receive  me  officially. 
Delegates  from  thirty  German  cities  attended  the  meet- 
ing. I  hesitate  to  write  of  the  very  hospitable  reception 
accorded  us,  not  only  by  the  lodges  but  also  by  many 
of  the  families  of  our  members. 

The  Secretary  of  the  German  Grand  Lodge  sent  the 
following  report  to  the  Executive  Committee: 

"Those  were  festive  days,  days  of  joy,  but  also  of  work,  that 
we  spent  during  the  sojourn  of  our  honored  President  of  the 
Order,  Brother  Kraus.  And  such  of  us  as  were  not  conscious 
of  the  fact  that  our  Order  is  not  an  ordinary  fraternal  organiza- 
tion but  constitutes  rather  a  great  and  united  family  of  brothers 
had  the  opportunity  to  be  convinced  of  this  fact  during  the  past 
few  days.  Many  a  brother  looked  for  the  arrival  of  Brother 
Kraus  with  eager  anticipation  and  full  of  expectations.  Quite 
naturally,  they  were  curious  to  know  how  the  successor  of  our 
Brother  Bien  and  of  the  so  early  deceased  and  lamented  Brother 
Levi  would  appear,  what  gifts  he  possessed  that  gained  for  him 
the  confidence  of  the  brothers  and  placed  him  in  the  highest 
office  within  the  gift  of  our  Order.  And  now  that  he  has  been 
with  us,  we  can  state  with  pleasure  and  satisfaction  that  he  has 
made  the  best  impresssion.  In  his  company  one  felt  the  bene- 
ficent presence  of  a  father,  and  his  stay  with  us  became  a  veritable 
brotherly  feast.  By  his  plain  simplicity,  by  the  purity  of  his 
character,  by  his  modest  and  unassuming  manners  he  quickly 
won  the  hearts  of  all.  And  even  such  of  our  brethren  as  are  not 
at  all  sentimental  freely  confessed  that  in  Brother  Kraus  all  the 
virtues  and  gifts  were  united  which  are  required  by  the  high 
office  he  so  ably  fills. 

"Yet  modest  as  he  is  with  respect  to  his  own  personality, 
just  as  exacting  is  he  for  the  respect  and  standing  of  the  Order  in 
Jewry.  That  we  work  unselfishly  and  successfully  in  behalf  of 
humanity  and  lend  a  helping  hand  everywhere  he  does  not 
deem  sufficient;  his  wish  is  that  the  Order  shall  gain  a  decisive 
influence  in  the  councils  of  the  various  Jewish  organizations. 
The  fate  of  our  persecuted  and  oppressed  brothers  in  faith  should 
not  be  determined  by  a  few  individuals,  but  rather  by  our  Order 


182  REMINISCENCES 

which  has  enrolled  under  its  banner  more  than  thirty-five 
thousand  Jews,  men  who  by  their  work  and  through  their  efforts 
have  brought  about  marked  achievements,  and  who  furnish  to 
all  other  organizations  what  they  are  most  in  need  of:  the  soldiers 
and  the  generals. 

"In  order  to  strengthen  the  Order  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
Brother  Kraus  suggests  uniformity  in  all  districts  as  far  as  the 
few  forms  and  signs  are  concerned,  and  that  a  ritual  should  be 
agreed  upon  that  shall  be  sacrosanct  to  all  lodges. 

"Brother  Kraus  especially  requested  that  all  contemplated 
festivities  in  his  honor  be  omitted  and  spent  his  time  taking 
part  in  the  work  of  various  lodges  and  in  the  activities  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  and  General  Committee.  On  these  occasions  he 
won  for  himself  our  love  and  esteem  by  his  modesty  of  character 
and  by  the  sound  counsels  he  imparted  to  us.  'I  have  come 
here  not  to  teach,  but  to  learn,'  was  his  reply  to  the  greetings  ex- 
tended to  him  by  President  Timendorfer  in  the  sessions  of  the 
General  Committee. 

"At  the  meetings  of  the  lodges  which  he  has  visited,  Brother 
Kraus  related  many  interesting  details  affecting  our  American 
brothers.  He  described  how  the  Order  endeavors  to  exert  an 
educational  influence  upon  the  new  Jewish  arrivals  from  Eastern 
Europe;  how  it  spares  no  efforts  to  reclaim  those  unfortunates 
who  owing  to  the  oppression  and  persecution  practiced  against 
them  in  benighted  lands  have  strayed  from  the  path  of  virtue. 

"Here  in  our  District  we  live  under  different  conditions  than 
those  to  be  found  in  America,  and  therefore  our  problems  are 
unlike  theirs  and  our  field  of  labor  extends  in  different  directions. 
Nevertheless  we  have  noted  the  suggestions  made  by  Brother 
Kraus  and  will  bring  them  into  practice  whenever  opportunity 
presents  itself.  But  as  Brother  Timendorfer  stated  at  the 
banquet  following  the  session  of  the  General  Committee,  we 
wish  to  reassert  that  Brother  Kraus  has  by  his  visit  conferred 
a  signal  honor  upon  us  and  has  caused  us  much  pleasure,  and 
that  we  are  also  confident  that  his  presence  among  the  brothers 
in  Germany  will  serve  to  cement  them  much  closer  and  be  of 
beneficial  influence  upon  the  Order  and  its  exalted  problems." 

The  Chicago  Tribune  published  March  6,  1909,  the 
following : 

"Berlin,  March  5. — Adolf  Kraus  of  Chicago,  President  of 
the  International  B'nai  B'rith  (Sons  of  the  Covenant)  organi- 
zation, left  Berlin  today  to  begin  a  comprehensive  official  visit 
to  the  great  Jewish  Order  throughout  Germany,  Bohemia, 
Hungary,  Austria  and  France. 


THE  JEW  183 

"  Distinguished  attention  has  been  accorded  to  him  by  the 
German  B'nai  B'rith,  which  gave  him  a  banquet  this  week.  It 
was  attended  by  the  presidents  of  forty-three  local  organizations 
from  all  parts  of  the  country. 

"'The  German  lodge,'  says  Mr.  Kraus,  'I  am  pleased  to 
find,  fills  a  conspicuous  role  in  the  conduct  of  charitable  work  in 
the  fatherland.  Its  activities  are,  of  course,  largely  confined  to 
the  Jews,  but  it  administers  to  their  wants  so  thoroughly 
that  practically  none  of  our  co-religionists  are  dependent  upon 
the  communities  in  which  they  live  for  general  charity. 

'I  have  made  a  special  inquiry  into  two  phases  of  the  work 
which  I  shall  do  my  best  to  transplant  to  New  York,  Chicago, 
Philadelphia  and  other  American  centers,  where  there  is  a  large 
population  of  poor  Jews. 

'I  refer  to  the  splendid  system  of  employment  finding  and 
plan  for  holding  nightly  entertainments  which  the  Berlin  B'nai 
B'rith  carried  out  last  year.  Although  it  was  a  period  unusually 
heavy  with  unemployed,  work  was  found  for  thousands  of  Jews 
at  an  incredibly  low  administrative  cost. 

'The  entertainment  idea  consists  of  every  night  in  the  year, 
except  Friday,  the  meetings  consisting  of  popular  talks  by 
authorities  on  various  subjects,  interspersed  with  music  and 
other  light  and  wholesome  attractions  of  one  kind  and  another. 
The  hall  is  always  packed.  Occasionally  refreshments  are 
passed  around. 

'It  keeps  off  the  streets  certain  elements  which  might  other- 
wise be  tempted  to  get  into  trouble.  It  keeps  others  from  freez- 
ing and  starving  and  provides  for  everybody  a  sort  of  club, 
which  exercises  the  best  sort  of  influence  on  the  entire  Ghetto 
community  of  which  it  is  the  center. 

'There  is  sore  need  of  something  of  this  sort  in  our  great 
American  cities.  I  think  the  B'nai  B'rith  would  erect  a  splendid 
monument  to  itself  if  it  should  find  it  feasible  to  inaugurate 
such  a  thing.'" 

On  our  journey  from  Germany  to  Austria,  in  every 
city  where  the  train  stopped  for  five  minutes  or  longer 
a  committee  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  was  at  the  depot 
to  greet  us.  In  one  of  these  cities  the  committee  pre- 
sented my  wife  with  a  beautiful  muff  made  of  violets. 
Inside  the  muff  were  boxes  of  candy. 

The  first  time  I  was  in  Prague  was  as  a  boy  emigrant 
on  my  way  to  America.     I  then  walked  the  streets  of 


184  REMINISCENCES 

that  city  for  a  few  hours  waiting  for  the  next  train.  I 
knew  nobody,  nobody  knew  me.  I  felt  lonesome  and 
forlorn. 

On  my  visit  to  Prague  in  1909,  the  members  of  the 
two  lodges  of  that  city  met  to  welcome  me.  While 
listening  to  the  address  of  welcome  by  the  president  of 
one  of  the  lodges,  and  seeing  the  large  assembly  of  lead- 
ing Jews  of  that  city,  I  for  a  moment  forgot  the  present 
and  thought  only  of  the  past,  with  the  result  that  when 
I  rose  to  speak  the  first  words  I  said  could  hardly  be 
heard. 

We  had  a  wonderfully  fine  time  in  that  city.  My 
wife's  brother  lived  there.  The  few  relations  I  still 
had  in  Bohemia  lived  either  in  Prague  or  nearby.  They 
all  called  to  see  us. 

One  morning  one  of  the  Prague  daily  papers  devoted 
considerable  space  to  me.  How  it  got  the  facts  it  pub- 
lished I  do  not  know.  One  thing,  however,  I  do  know, 
and  that  is,  there  was  very  little  truth  in  the  article. 
It  was  complimentary  but  very  much  exaggerated. 
Among  other  things  it  stated  that  I  was  enormously 
rich  and  that  I  was  traveling  in  my  native  country  to 
aid  those  in  distress.  Another  thing  I  became  con- 
vinced of,  however,  was  that  that  paper  had  consider- 
able circulation,  for  every  mail  brought  me  many 
appeals  for  assistance  of  one  kind  or  another. 

A  young  lady  of  whom  I  had  never  heard  wrote  that 
she  was  engaged  to  marry  a  captain  in  the  army;  that, 
as  the  salary  of  a  captain  was  not  sufficient  to  support 
a  wife  in  accordance  with  his  official  station,  the  law 
would  not  permit  him  to  marry  unless  there  was  de- 
posited with  the  Government  a  sufficient  sum  of  money 
to  enable  him  to  live  on  his  salary  and  the  interest 


THE  JEW  185 

which  the  Government  would  pay  on  the  money  de- 
posited; that  he  needed  25,000  gulden  to  make  such  a 
deposit.  The  young  lady  asked  me  to  give  it  to  her 
as  her  dowry. 

A  man  wrote  me  that  he  was  sure  that  his  wife 
wanted  to  poison  him,  that  I  should  come  to  pro- 
tect him  by  taking  care  of  him  and  taking  him  to 
America. 

One  morning  shortly  before  seven  a  bell  boy  woke 
me  and  told  me  there  was  a  gentleman  in  the  waiting 
room  who  wanted  to  see  me.  I  dressed,  met  the 
gentleman,  who  handed  me  his  card.  He  was  the 
rabbi  of  a  city  in  Bohemia;  the  name  of  the  place  I 
have  forgotten.  He  further  introduced  himself  by  in- 
forming me  that  he  had  been  rabbi  in  Blowitz,  the  city 
of  my  birth.  He  took  a  photograph  of  a  young  lady 
out  of  his  pocket  and  showed  it  to  me,  asking  whether 
I  knew  the  young  lady.     I  answered,  "No."     He  said, 

"She  is  the  daughter  of ,  a  merchant  in  Blowitz." 

I  said,  "When  my  parents  moved  from  that  city  I  was 
so  young  that  I  remember  very  little  of  Blowitz.  Why 
do  you  show  me  the  photograph?"  I  asked.  He 
answered,  "I  intended  to  marry  that  young  lady,  but 
did  not."  "Why  not?"  I  asked.  "For  a  good  reason; 
she  married  another  man, "  he  said.  He  kept  on  speak- 
ing of  people  in  Blowitz  and  told  me  that  he  had  taken 
the  four  o'clock  train  that  morning  to  come  to  Prague 
to  call  on  me,  and  that  he  wanted  to  return  on  the  nine 
o'clock  train,  so  as  to  be  home  again  at  noon.  Sus- 
pecting that  he  had  called  to  make  an  appeal  for  funds, 
I  said  to  him,  "Will  you  please  tell  me  what  you  want 
of  me?"  "I  want  of  you?  I  want  nothing.  All  I 
came  here  for  was  to  see  you, "  he  said. 


186  REMINISCENCES 

Dr.  Salus  of  Prague,  physician  and  poet,  presented 
to  my  wife  five  volumes  of  his  poetry,  and  on  the  fly 
leaf  of  one  of  them  he  wrote  the  following : 

DIE  AHNEN 

Meinen  Grossvater  hab'  ich  noch  gekannt, 

Er  trug  sein  Biindel  ubers  Land 

Und  konnte  nicht  schreiben  und  konnte  nicht  lesen 

Und  ist  ein  armer  Hausierer  gewesen. 

Doch,  wenn  ich  meinen  Vater  frag': 
"Wer  war  deines  Vaters  Vater?     Sag!" — 
Er  lachelt  traurig:     "Wie  soil  ich  das  Sagen?! 
Er  hat  ein  Biindel  durchs  Land  getragen!" 

"Und  vor  ihm,  all  die  tausend  Jahr', 
Wer  unser  Ahn  and  Urahn  war? 
Was  konnte  uns  an  sie  gemahnen? 
Arme  haben  keine  Ahnen!" 

Elend,  Verfolgung,  Jammer  und  Not, 

Dunkel  ihr  Leben,  dunkel  ihr  Tod! 

Und  ich  schame  mich  fast  durch  den  Abend  zu  gehen 

Und  seine  Schonheit  und  Duft  zu  verstehen! 

Denn  vor  mir  und  neben  mir  keucht  es  schwer 
Da  zieht  meiner  Ahnen  dunkles  Heer 
Mit  wundem  Rucken  und  Fiissen  die  brennen 
Und  mit  ernsten  Augen,  die  mich  nicht  kennen. 

Der  verehrungswiirdigen  Gemahlin  des  hochwurdigen 
Bundesprasidenten  Br.  Adolf  Kraus,  zur  Erinnerung  an 
ihrer  Prager  Aufenhalt  Marz  1909. 

Br.  Hugo  Salus. 

Secretary  Skall  wrote  to  the  B'nai  B'rith  here: 

"Brother  Kraus  and  his  wife  (in  whose  honor  the  ladies, 
wives  and  daughters  of  the  members,  arranged  an  evening 
tea)  were  during  their  stay  with  us  the  honored  center 
of  our  brotherhood  and  of  our  city.  The  hotel  where  they 
lived  appeared  as  the  headquarters  of  a  potentate  who 
holds  court  and  gives  audiences.  Brother  Kraus  made  the 
strongest  impression  upon  our  members  with  his  lovable  qualities 
and  practicability  in  the  affairs  of  the  Order;  his  public  addresses 
were  overwhelmingly  instructive  and  inspiring.      His  reference 


THE  JEW  187 

to  the  loyalty  of  the  brothers  of  Austria  to  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Order  made  a  great  impression,  which  will  be 
of  beneficial  results.  Brother  Kraus  was  surrounded  here  with 
the  enthusiasm  and  esteem  of  our  members  and  impressed  us 
very  much  with  his  goodness,  democratic  habits  and  thorough 
acquaintance  and  familiarity  with  the  Order's  affairs.  His  stay 
in  Prague  will  have  good  results.  Mrs.  Kraus  has  ingratiated 
herself  in  the  hearts  of  all  as  she  is  an  unusually  good  and  loving 
person  and  was  esteemed  by  us  all.  Their  visit  to  Prague  will 
always  remain  a  memory  with  us  as  a  festival  week." 

In  Pilsen,  the  county  seat  of  my  native  county,  a 
banquet  was  given  in  my  honor.  The  hall  was  beauti- 
fully decorated  with  wonderful  flowers  for  that  season 
of  the  year,  and  every  member  was  present.  After 
the  banquet  I  requested  the  president  of  the  lodge  to 
engage  an  auto  for  me  for  the  next  morning,  because  I 
wanted  to  go  to  Blowitz  (about  twenty  English  miles 
from  Pilsen),  to  visit  the  grave  of  my  father.  The 
president  asked  me  to  postpone  my  visit  for  a  day 
because  his  wife  expected  us  to  luncheon,  and  his  in- 
vitation was  accepted. 

When  I  arrived  in  Blowitz  I  found  a  committee 
waiting  to  escort  me  to  the  cemetery.  I  found  my 
father's  grave  in  fine  shape.  It  was  the  only  grave  in 
the  cemetery  in  good  condition.  I  had  provided  for 
perpetual  care,  but  finding  that  no  other  grave  was  so 
well  kept  I  asked,  "  Why  is  my  father's  grave  the  only 
one  in  such  good  condition?"  The  answer  was,  "A 
messenger  came  here  yesterday  from  the  president  of 
the  lodge  in  Pilsen,  informing  us  that  you  would  be 
here  today,  and  requesting  that  your  father's  grave  be 
put  in  the  best  condition  possible  before  you  came." 
Of  the  numerous  attentions  and  all  the  kind  treatment 
I  received  from  my  brethren  in  Europe,  none  affected 
me  so  much  as  this. 


188  REMINISCENCES 

We  stayed  longer  in  Vienna  than  in  any  other  city. 
The  two  lodges  there  held  a  joint  meeting  to  receive  me. 
We  could  not  accept  all  the  invitations  we  received  to 
theatres,  dinners,  auto  tours,  boat  rides,  excursions,  etc. 
Everyone  we  met  seemed  anxious  to  try  to  do  something 
to  make  our  stay  a  pleasant  one.  The  same  courteous 
treatment  was  accorded  us  in  every  city  we  visited. 

On  the  evening  before  our  departure  from  Vienna  I 
had  all  those  who  had  been  so  kind  to  us  as  our  guests 
to  dinner.  It  was  a  very  pleasant  affair,  and  lasted 
until  long  after  midnight.  As  our  guests  were  about 
to  leave  I  thanked  them  for  their  many  kindnesses  and 
bade  them,  not  " Good-bye,"  but  " Auf  wiedersehen." 
Thereupon  Banker  Taussig,  the  president  of  one  of  the 
lodges,  arose  and  said : 

"When  you  came  here  and  our  lodges  met  to  greet  you,  I 
delivered  the  address  of  welcome.  I  said  many  nice  things  of  you. 
If  you  thought  that  I  believed  what  I  said,  you  were  mistaken.  I 
did  not  know  you.  What  I  said  of  you  was  not  personal  to  you, 
but  to  the  office  which  you  hold,  for  I  thought  it  was  a  duty  I 
owed  the  office.  But  now  you  have  been  with  us  long  enough  so 
that  we  know  you.  When  you  come  next  time,  if  I  have  the 
opportunity,  I  will  say  nicer  things  of  you  than  I  did  the  first 
time,  and  my  remarks  will  then  be  personal  and  will  be  meant." 

We  had  one  member  of  the  Order  in  London,  Mr. 
Claude  Montefiore.  He  was  a  member  of  a  lodge  in 
Berlin.  He  invited  the  leading  Jews  of  London  to 
meet  me  at  his  home  on  my  visit  to  that  city.  There 
were  about  120  present.  I  appealed  to  them  to  form 
a  lodge  in  London,  and  gave  my  reasons  why  such  a 
lodge  should  be  formed.  Mr.  Montefiore  presided. 
Brother  Bergel  of  Berlin  came  with  me.  He  addressed 
the  meeting  first.  When  I  finished  Mr.  Montefiore 
asked  for  expressions  of  opinion.  A  number  of  guests 
expressed  appreciation  of  what  we  said,  but  each  gave 


THE  JEW  189 

reasons  why  it  was  not  necessary  to  start  a  lodge  in  Lon- 
don. The  principal  reasons  were  that  they  had,  so  they 
said,  sufficient  organizations  doing  the  work  which  our 
organization,  if  established  in  London,  could  do.  Some- 
one called  on  Israel  Zangwill  to  speak.  Mr.  Zangwill  said 
that  he  was  very  much  in  favor  of  establishing  a  lodge, 
provided  that  existing  organizations  would  disband  and 
all  join  the  B'nai  B'rith,  so  as  to  have  only  one  organiza- 
tion.    That  was  considered  the  joke  of  the  evening. 

Then  someone  said  he  would  like  to  hear  from  Dr. 
Gaster  (chief  rabbi  of  the  Portuguese  congregations). 
Dr.  Gaster  said,  "This  is  the  first  time  that  the  hand  of 
brotherhood  has  been  extended  to  us  from  across  the 
ocean.  I  for  one  am  willing  to  grasp  it  and  work  for 
the  establishment  of  a  B'nai  B'rith  lodge  in  this  city." 

One  other  gentleman  present  said  a  few  words  in 
our  favor.  Mr.  Montefiore:  "  Gentlemen,  we  are  ex- 
pected downstairs  to  luncheon.  I  will  now  put  the 
question,  whether  or  not  we  shall  Jform  a  lodge  in  this 
city,  to  a  vote." 

It  was  evident  that  a  large  majority  would  vote  "no," 
so  I  asked  leave  to  say  a  few  words  before  the  question 
was  put  to  a  vote.  I  said,  "  I  would  like  to  have  those 
who  favor  the  establishing  of  a  lodge  stand  up." 

Ten,  including  Dr.  Gaster,  rose.  I  then  said,  "Mr. 
Chairman,  I  am  not  interested  in  knowing  how  many 
are  not  in  favor  of  the  proposition ;  but  am  interested  in 
knowing  how  many  are.  I  find  ten  are  in  favor;  that 
is  enough  to  start  with.  As  ten  is  considered  a  quorum 
for  a  congregation,  it  will  do  for  a  lodge.  Permit  me 
to  make  the  suggestion,  that  those  who  are  not  in  favor, 
go  downstairs  and  leave  us  who  are  in  favor  for  a  few 
minutes.     We  will  follow  them." 


190  REMINISCENCES 

That  was  acted  on.  I  appointed  those  ten  a  com- 
mittee to  organize  a  lodge  and  they  did  organize  a 
wonderful  lodge;  a  lodge  that  might  be  justly  termed 
"The  Lodge  of  Intellectuals." 

Conditions  in  Russia  under  the  Czar  were  growing 
from  bad  to  worse.  Remonstrances  by  the  American 
press  and  from  portions  of  the  European  press  were  of 
no  avail.  An  American  passport,  in  the  hands  of  a 
Jew,  was  no  protection.  Honorable  John  B.  Foster, 
formerly  Secretary  of  State,  at  a  meeting  of  the  B'nai 
B'rith  in  Washington,  said: 

"Some  years  ago,  when  I  was  about  to  sail  to  St.  Petersburg 
to  assume  my  duties  as  American  Minister  in  Russia,  I  was  told 
by  one  of  my  predecessors  at  that  Court  that  one  of  my  chief 
duties  would  be  going  to  the  foreign  office  to  secure  the  release 
of  American  citizens  of  the  Jewish  faith  from  imprisonment, 
and  this  prediction  was  very  nearly  correct.  In  the  eighties, 
when  I  had  the  honor  to  represent  our  country  at  the  Court  of 
the  Czar,  even  the  passport  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States  commanded  very  little  respect  when  it  was  found  that  it 
was  borne  by  a  member  of  the  Hebrew  race." 

It  was  urged  by  leading  Jews  that  since  Russia  per- 
sisted in  refusing  to  recognize  the  American  passport, 
the  commercial  treaty  between  the  two  countries 
should  be  abrogated.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Union  of 
American  Hebrew  Congregations  held  on  Janurary  19, 
1911,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  submit  an  appeal 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

On  February  8,  1911,  President  Taft  sent  me  the 
following  invitation: 

"I  am  inviting  conference  of  gentlemen  at  luncheon  at  the 
White  House  1 :30  February  15.  There  will  be  present,  if  they 
accept  invitations,  the  following  gentlemen,  in  addition  to  your- 
self, (here  followed  the  names  of  the  invited  guests)  also  Secretary 
Knox  and  Secretary  Nagel.  Kindly  wire  me  whether  you  can 
be  present." 


THE  JEW  191 

On  February  15th  there  appeared  at  the  White 
House  Messrs.  Freiberg,  Bettman,  Jacob  H.  Schiff, 
Louis  Marshall,  Simon  Wolf,  Jacob  Furth,  Philip  Stein, 
Chas.  Nagel,  Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  Con- 
gressman Goldfogle,  and  myself.  We  were  cordially 
received  by  the  President  and  took  luncheon  with  him 
and  his  family.  After  luncheon  the  President  excused 
the  absence  of  Secretary  Knox,  who  had  been  unex- 
pectedly called  to  Chicago.  The  result  of  the  meeting 
was  not  satisfactory.  After  leaving  the  White  House 
Messrs.  Schiff  and  Marshall  and  I  held  a  conference 
and  decided  to  appeal  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  Afterwards,  in  nearly  all  cities  mass  meetings 
were  held,  denouncing  Russia's  course.  Several  states 
adopted  resolutions  requesting  the  Government  to  act. 
The  press  was  almost  a  unit  in  demanding  the  abroga- 
tion of  the  treaty.  Resolutions  for  abrogating  the 
treaty  were  introduced  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
as  well  as  in  the  Senate,  and  favorably  considered  by 
the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations.  The  agitation 
began  in  the  latter  part  of  February  and  continued  to 
the  end  of  the  year.  I  was  of  opinion  that  the  President 
was  favorable  to  the  abrogation  of  the  treaty  but  feared 
the  country  was  not  ripe  for  such  action.  On  Decem- 
ber 6th  of  that  year  I  was  in  Washington  and  with 
Simon  Wolf  called  on  the  President  to  pay  our  respects. 
The  President  told  us  that  about  Christmas  time  he 
would  give  notice  of  the  abrogation  of  the  treaty.  The 
notice  was  given.  While  I  recognize  the  valuable  ser- 
vices rendered  in  this  case  by  the  American  Jewish  Com- 
mittee and  the  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congre- 
gations, it  is  significant  that  the  President  evidently 
regarded  the  B'nai  B'rith  as  the  most  important  factor 


192  REMINISCENCES 

for  he  presented  the  Order  with  the  pen  used  in  signing 
the  Abrogation  of  the  Russian  Treaty.  Secretary  Nagel 
handed  me  the  pen,  saying  as  he  did  so: 

11  It  is  my  privilege  to  hand  you  the  pen  with  which  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  signed  the  abrogation  resolution.  I 
trust  that  we  may  all  remember  that  only  the  first  step  has  been 
taken,  that  very  much  remains  to  be  done,  and  I  trust  that  we 
may  bear  in  mind  that  there  will  be  occasion  enough  for  patience, 
firmness  and  wisdom." 

In  1912  the  Executive  Committee  met  in  Berlin. 
Before  leaving  for  Berlin  I  received  the  following  letter 
from  President  Taft: 

THE   WHITE   HOUSE 

WASHINGTON 


March  7,  1912 


Gentlemen: 

This  will  introduce  to  you  Mr.   Adolph  Kraus,  of 
Chicago,   the  president   of  the  Independent  Order  of 
B'Nai  B'Rith,  who  is  going  abroad.  Mr.  Kraus  is 

an  old  friend  of  mine  and  I  commend  him  to  your  cour- 
tesy. 

Sincerely  yours, 


To  xne 

Diplomatic  and  Consular  Officers 
of  the  United  States. 


THE  JEW  193 

I  preserved  the  letter  but  made  no  use  of  it. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  a 
quorum  was  present.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  time, 
and,  I  think,  did  some  good  work  in  the  cause  of 
humanity. 

The  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith  awards  a  gold  medal  to 
that  person  who  in  the  opinion  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee has  done  the  most  for  the  Jewish  people  and  for 
humanity  in  any  one  year.  In  1912,  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Executive  Committee  in  Berlin,  Germany,  the 
medal  was  voted  to  President  Taft. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  was 

held  in  the  city  of  Washington  on  January  5  and  6,  1913. 

President  Taft  was  notified  that  if  agreeable  to  him, 

the  medal  awarded  to  him  at  the  Berlin  meeting  would 

be  presented.     The  President  sent  a  written  invitation 

to  each  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  to  take 

luncheon  at  the  White  House  on  January  6th  at  1:30 

p.  m.     The  honor  of  presenting  the  medal  to  Mr.  Taft 

was  given  to  me.     I  addressed  him  as  follows: 

" Mr.  President:  If  it  were  given  to  man  to  know  the  Divine 
intention,  we  should  then  be  able  to  understand  why  that  people 
whose  ancient  leader  was  selected  to  receive  and  expound  the 
Divine  law,  that  people  who  gave  to  the  world  the  fundamental 
religious  conception  and  whose  devoted  adherence,  according  to 
their  understanding,  to  that  law  is  singularly  exemplified  in 
history,  should  throughout  the  ages,  even  unto  the  present,  be 
most  cruelly  persecuted  in  His  name.  But,  Mr.  President,  the 
history  of  civilization  is  but  the  record  of  the  slowly  developing 
intellect  and  conscience  of  man.  The  sympathy  for  human 
suffering  which  good  men  generally  feel  today  is  but  the  develop- 
ment of  that  divine  spark  which  ages  ago  kindled  in  the  breast 
of  the  savage  and  made  him  turn  away  from  his  writhing  victim 
with  something  akin  to  pity.  And  so  it  is  with  all  the  other 
human  qualities  which  in  the  enlightened  judgment  of  men  are 
called  good,  they  but  express  the  growth,  step  by  step,  of  those 
elements  of  human  character  whose  ultimate  development 
means  the  attainment  of  complete  justice  among  men.]|*^ 


194  REMINISCENCES 

"To  know  justice,  we  must  know  injustice;  and,  perhaps  we 
may  glimpse  the  divine  intention,  if  it  be  a  part  of  the  infinite 
plan,  that  through  its  injustice  to  the  Jew  the  world  shall  learn 
to  know  justice  and  to  do  justice  to  all  men. 

"Be  that  as  it  may,  Mr.  President,  the  fact  remains  that  in 
countries  not  so  blessed  as  our  own  with  the  spirit  and  the  prac- 
tice of  justice,  the  flame  of  religious  and  race  hatred  still  burns 
and  the  Jewish  victim,  with  the  same  fortitude,  still  prays  as 
for  two  thousand  years  his  ancestors  have  prayed,  for  that  de- 
liverance which  has  not  come.  And  we,  his  co-religionists, 
members  of  the  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith,  having 
among  other  humanitarian  objects  the  amelioration  of  the  con- 
dition of  our  persecuted  brethern,  in  behalf  of  Jewish  victims  of 
persecution,  have  enlisted  ourselves  in  what  may  be  called  the 
Jewish  cause.  And  that  cause,  we  believe,  is  only  part  of  a  larger 
cause — the  cause  of  humanity.  For  the  inhuman  treatment  of 
the  Jew  in  those  countries  where  he  is  still  persecuted  is  but  one 
manifestation  of  man's  old  inhumanity  to  man;  and  the  day  that 
shall  witness  the  end  of  Jewish  persecution  everywhere  shall 
likewise  dawn  upon  a  better  world  for  all  men  everywhere. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  B'nai 
B'rith  held  in  the  city  of  Berlin,  Germany,  April  15,  1912,  the 
following  action  was  taken.     I  read  from  a  copy  of  the  record: 

"'The  convention  of  the  Order,  having  directed  that  a  gold 
medal  be  annually  awarded  to  the  man  or  woman,  regardless  of 
creed,  who  has  contributed  most  during  the  year  to  the  welfare 
of  the  Jewish  cause,  the  awarding  of  the  medal  was  next  taken 
up.  After  full  discussion  it  was  decided  that  President  William 
Howard  Taft  of  the  United  States  of  America  had  on  various 
occasions  during  the  year  fearlessly,  justly  and  vigorously  enun- 
ciated doctrines  and  maintained  positions  on  questions  in  which 
the  Jewish  people  have  a  vital  interest,  albeit  they  are  of  not  less 
significance  to  lovers  of  liberty  and  justice  the  world  over; 
that  the  positions  so  taken  by  him  as  the  head  of  a  great  nation 
gave  new  hope  of  better  days  to  come  for  the  persecuted  of  our 
people;  that  in  recognition  thereof  the  medal  should  be,  and 
accordingly  it  was,  voted  to  President  Taft.' 

"The  year  presents  the  act  of  no  indivudal,  Mr.  President, 
of  whatever  standing,  which  equaled  in  its  beneficial  effect  upon 
the  Jewish  cause  those  actions  of  yours  as  the  chief  executive  of 
this  great  nation.  Such  at  least  was  the  judgment  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith,  as 
expressed  in  the  action  to  which  I  have  referred. 

"And  so,  Mr.  President,  in  behalf  of  the  Order  of  B'nai 
B'rith,  I  have  the  honor — and  it  is  an  honor  to  me  above  and 
beyond  the  very  great  honor  conferred  upon  me  by  my  selection 


THE  JEW  195 

to  make  this  presentation,  for  it  has  been  my  great  privilege  to 
learn  from  prior  personal  association  how  richly  of  the  gratitude 
of  men  your  great  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  deserve — I  have 
the  honor,  at  a  time  when  our  action  can  bear  no  possible  taint 
of  any  motive  save  that  of  grateful  appreciation — to  present  to 
you  this  medal." 

The  President  replied : 

"Mr.  Kraus  and  gentlemen  of  the  Committee  of  the  B'nai 
B'rith :  I  am  very  greatly  honored  and  very  much  touched  by 
this  beautiful  evidence  of  your  testimony  to  the  usefulness  of 
efforts  of  mine,  while  exercising  the  office  of  President,  to  make 
it  clear  to  the  people  and  the  world  at  large,  that  in  this  country 
at  least,  every  man,  woman  and  child  is  equal  before  the  law  and 
entitled  to  enjoy  those  rights  that  we  call  inalienable;  that  in 
this  country  not  only  are  those  rights  declared  and  secured  by 
law,  but  that  there  is  among  the  people  a  spirit  that  reflects  and 
carries  out  the  principles  of  our  Constitution.  Now,  upon  the 
Jewish  people  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  pronounce  eulogium. 
In  their  just  pride  of  their  ancestry  those  of  us  who  are  not  of 
the  Jewish  people  have  to  be  humble.  The  genius,  the  strength 
of  your  race,  the  patience  and  the  persistence  with  which  you 
pursue  your  purpose  to  maintain  your  rights  and  exalt  your 
race — all  make  yours  an  exceptional  history  in  the  history  of 
the  world.  The  persecutions  to  which  you  have  been  subjected 
because  of  your  religion  have  in  a  sense  doubtless  developed  the 
character  and  tenacity  of  your  race,  but  it  needs  a  free  country 
like  the  United  States  to  develop  the  flower  and  enable  you  to 
show  to  the  world  at  large  that  wonderful  capacity  of  the  race 
as  supporters  of  law  and  order  in  a  government  of  freedom  and 
a  government  that  insists  upon  equality  before  the  law. 

"My  father  was  a  Unitarian,  and  I  was  brought  up  in  that 
faith.  Across  the  street  from  the  Unitarian  church  in  Cincin- 
nati was  the  Jewish  synagogue,  of  which  the  Rev.  Isaac  M.  Wise 
was  rabbi.  Our  clergymen  exchanged  pulpits,  so  in  my  boy- 
hood days  I  sat  at  the  feet  of  Dr.  Wise  in  the  Unitarian  church 
and  listened  to  sermons  which  he  delivered  in  the  pulpit  of  that 
church.  It  is  therefore  not  to  be  supposed  that  there  was  any 
prejudice  of  any  sort  in  my  mind  or  that  there  was  anything 
but  impatience  at  the  suggestion  of  a  prejudice  that  may  exist 
in  narrow  minds. 

"Now,  Mr.  Kraus  and  gentlemen,  there  is  not  any  doubt 
but  that  a  race  like  yours,  as  civilization  goes  on,  will  forge  itself 
to  the  front  and  overcome  the  inequalities  and  persecutions 
that  unfortunately  continue  and  exist  in  some  countries.  This 
is  as  certain  as  the  day,  and  it  is  a  great  satisfaction  that  this 


196  REMINISCENCES 

movement  of  the  Jews  upward  and  onward  to  complete  and 
world-wide  recognition  of  their  merit  and  to  social  justice  every- 
where has  had  its  most  successful  impulse  in  this  country. 

"And  now,  gentlemen,  I  shall  treasure  this  evidence  as  one 
of  the  greatest  honors  and  as  one  of  the  greatest  pleasures  of 
my  administration." 

All  the  members  spent  a  very  enjoyable  afternoon 
at  the  White  House.  The  President  sent  for  a  photo- 
grapher and  had  a  picture  taken  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee with  himself  in  the  centre  of  the  group. 

On  January  19,  1913,  the  70th  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  the  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith  was 
celebrated  at  Temple  Beth  El,  New  York  City.  Presi- 
dent Taft  was  one  of  the  speakers.  I  quote  from  his 
address : 

"Yours  is  a  great  association  founded  seventy  years  ago;  it 
has  extended  its  usefulness,  its  influence  around  the  globe. 
Seventy  years  in  the  life  of  the  Jewish  race  is  very  short.  It  is 
a  young  institution  with  you,  and  it  is  for  me  of  great  significance 
that  it  represents  the  desire  of  the  Jewish  race  to  benefit  mankind 
— a  desire  that  has  persisted  in  that  race  after  it  came  under  the 
influence  and  came  to  understand  the  benefits  of  free  govern- 
ment in  the  United  States. 

"Something  over  four  hundred  lodges  down  to  1898  had 
disposed  of  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars  in  sick  benefits,  in 
payments  to  widows  and  orphans,  in  the  construction  of  chari- 
table institutions  and  in  other  charities.  Between  1898  and 
now — I  do  not  know  that  there  are  any  statistics,  but  judging 
from  the  natural  increase — what  has  been  done  in  that  decade, 
I  should  be  surprised  if  you  have  not  nearly  doubled  the  hundred 
million  and  made  it  two  hundred  millions  in  the  disposition  of 
charity  the  world  over. 

"The  study  of  the  history  of  the  Jewish  people  brings  to 
one  who  is  not  a  Jew  a  profound  admiration  for  a  race  whose 
virtues  have  enabled  it  to  live  against  all  abuses,  against  all 
intolerances,  against  all  unkindness.  It  is  a  little  like,  though 
in  a  different  way,  the  feeling  you  have  towards  a  race  like  that 
which  went  to  New  England  where  there  was  no  soil  worth 
cultivating  on  any  scale,  where  there  was  very  little  to  encourage 
one  to  take  out  the  earth's  wealth,  yet  there,  in  those  places  it 
was,  where  there  was  the  least  encouragement,  that  the  strongest 
men  seem  to  have  been  made. 


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THE  JEW  197 

"I  never  was  quite  so  much  impressed,  never  had  my  patriot- 
ism so  much  aroused,  as  I  did  in  visiting  the  East  Side.  Going 
among  those  people,  who  had  come  over  within  the  last  decade, 
and  seeing  their  young  children  responding  to  the  flag,  singing 
the  national  anthem,  and  alive  to  the  appreciation  of  the  fact 
that  they  were  American  citizens,  entitled  to  enjoy  all  the  liber- 
ties of  our  land,  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  they  understood  the  signifi- 
cance of  America  better  than  those  of  us  who  have  been  brought 
up  here  and  who  always  thought  that  these  things  are  matters 
of  course  and  that  there  was  no  oppression  anywhere  and  no 
inequality. 

"Now  I  know  I  need  not  preach  patience  to  a  people  that 
have  been  patient  for  as  many  thousands  of  years  as  you  have. 
I  needn't  preach  persistence  and  determination  to  bring  about 
a  result,  a  just  result,  for  your  co-religionists.  I  can  only  say 
in  words  of  encouragement,  that  I  believe  conditions  warrant 
its  coming,  maybe  not  in  your  time,  or  in  mine,  but  it  is  coming 
step  by  step.  I  do  not  believe  in  progress  over  night  at  any  rate. 
Nothing  has  been  done  in  this  world  that  was  worth  having,  that 
did  not  take  a  great  deal  of  effort,  and  did  not  involve  a  great 
many  defects. 

"I  have  referred  to  the  fact  that  this  association  is  great  in 
its  usefulness,  because  of  the  actual  charities  that  it  disposes. 
It  is  great  because  of  the  example  that  it  offers  the  world.  I 
don't  know  exactly  why,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  the  Jewish  charities 
are  the  greatest  charities  in  any  society.  They  are  the  most 
perfect,  and  I  must  think  that  it  is  due  to  the  spirit  of  brother- 
hood that  has  been  developed  in  your  race  by  your  common 
burdens.  In  your  early  history,  when  every  man  was  against 
you,  and  when  you  stood  together  to  live  as  a  race  and  to  carry 
on  life,  and  a  great  history  it  is,  you  saw  to  it  that  every  man  and 
woman  in  that  race  had  all  the  rights  you  could  give  him  to 
enable  them  to  live  and  to  live  happily." 

On  the  occasion  of  President  and  Mrs.  Taft's  silver 
wedding  the  Executive  Committee  presented  them  with 
silver  Tables  of  the  Law,  to  which  the  President  re- 
sponded as  follows: 

"Gentlemen: — I  beg  to  acknowledge  your  very  kind  letter  of 
July  6th,  together  with  the  Tables  of  the  Law  presented  in  a 
most  artistic  and  charming  fashion  upon  silver.  I  shall  keep 
this  on  my  desk  to  remind  me  of  my  duty,  and,  while  my  famili- 
arity with  the  Hebrew  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  me  to  trace 
the  meaning  by  letters,  I  think  my  memory  will  enable  me  to 
know  what  they  are  constantly  saying. 


198  REMINISCENCES 

"I  have  appropriated  the  use  of  this  gift  to  myself,  because 
I  believe  that  I  need  it  very  much  more  than  the  lady  in  whose 
honor  you  chiefly  present  it. 

"With  assurances  of  my  gratitude,  believe  me, 

"Sincerely  yours, 

Wm.  H.  Taft." 

During  my  term  of  office  from  1910  to  1915,  money 
was  collected  by  the  Executive  Committee  for  the  re- 
lief of  sufferers  from  the  Constantinople  fire,  for  the 
relief  of  sufferers  from  the  earthquake  in  Turkey,  for 
the  Balkan  War  sufferers,  for  the  relief  of  flood  sufferers 
in  Ohio,  and  tornado  sufferers  in  Nebraska,  for  the 
relief  of  sufferers  in  Solonica  and  Roumania  and  various 
charitable  institutions  to  the  amount  of  $2,265,379.71. 
Fully  as  much  was  paid  out  for  relief  during  the  period 
from  1915  to  1920  and  from  1920  to  1925. 

ORDER'S  EFFORTS  ON  BEHALF  OF  JEWS 
IN  BALKAN  STATES. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Turkish  war  it  was  foreseen 
that  territorial  rearrangements  would  most  likely 
follow  as  a  result  of  the  war  and  that  thereby  the  status 
of  the  Jews  in  some  of  the  Balkan  states  would,  prob- 
ably, change  for  the  worse. 

Resolutions  prepared  by  us,  expressing  the  sentiment 
of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  that  all  inhabitants 
of  the  Balkan  states  be  accorded  equal  rights,  regardless 
of  religious  belief,  were  submitted  to  the  Illinois  legis- 
lature. The  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  on 
April  2,  1913,  and  it  was  ordered  that  a  certified  copy 
be  forewarded  to  the  Secretary  of  State.  The  resolu- 
tions were  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  human  rights  have  been  disregarded  in  Roumania 
and  Turkey,  in  that  Christians  have  been  massacred  by  the 
hundred  in  Albania  and  more  than  200,000  Jews  in   Roumania 


THE  JEW  199 

are  reduced  by  governmental  restriction  as  to  the  enjoyment  of 
their  natural  rights  to  a  condition  which  is  equivalent  to  slavery; 
and 

"Whereas,  in  the  Bulgarian  territory  all  of  the  people  thereof 
have  been  heretofore  permitted  to  enjoy  and  are  now  enjoying 
equal  rights  and  privileges;  and 

"Whereas,  Roumania  is  now  demanding  that  in  the  division 
of  territory  resulting  from  the  Balkan  war  a  portion  of  Bulgarian 
territory  be  ceded  to  Roumania;  and 

"Whereas,  the  cession  to  Roumania  of  such  territory  would 
bring  a  hitherto  free  people  under  and  subject  to  the  unjust 
restrictions  of  the  Roumanian  government  unless  the  rights  of 
such  people  are  properly  safeguarded ;  and 

"Whereas,  it  is  contrary  to  the  enlightened  judgment  of  just 
men  everywhere  that  any  people  should  be  made  the  victims  of 
massacre  and  of  discriminating  and  unjust  laws; 

"Therefore,  be  it  Resolved  by  the  Senate  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  the  House  of  Representatives  concurring  therein,  That 
it  is  the  sense  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois  and  their  hope 
that  the  powers  of  Europe  should  and  that  they  will  demand  as 
a  condition  precedent  to  the  division  or  cession  of  any  such 
territory  that  the  human  rights  of  all  the  inhabitants  thereof, 
whether  Christians,  Jews  or  Moslems,  be  fully  guarded  and  pro- 
tected. Resolved  further,  That  the  Department  of  State  of  the 
United  States  Government  be  informed  of  this  action  and  re- 
quested to  take  such  measures  in  the  premises  as  it  may  deem 
proper  and  just." 

Leading  newspapers  of  the  country  endorsed  editori- 
ally our  position,  that  the  Jews  in  territory  to  be  ceded 
to  Roumania  should  not  be  deprived  of  the  rights  of 
citizenship  theretofore  enjoyed  by  them. 

We  petitioned  our  government  to  suggest  to  the 
Powers,  that  in  the  peace  agreement  a  clause  be  in- 
corporated guaranteeing  equal  rights  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Balkan  states  regardless  of  creed. 

Our  appeal  to  President  Wilson  and  Secretary  Bryan 
was  not  made  in  vain.  At  the  peace  conference  of  the 
Balkan  delegates,  held  in  Bucharest,  in  August,  1913,  a 
note  was  presented  from  the  American  government  ex- 
pressing the  hope  that  in  the  treaty  to  be  consummated 


200  REMINISCENCES 

full  religious  liberty  and  citizenship  to  all  the  inhabitants 
in  territory  taken  from  one  country  and  given  to  another 
would  be  granted. 

Premier  Majorescu  of  Roumania,  presiding  at  the 
conference,  declared  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  have 
such  a  declaration  incorporated  in  the  treaty  as  such 
was  already  the  law  in  all  of  the  countries  involved. 
With  this  statement  all  the  delegates  coincided.  Since 
we  well  knew  the  measure  of  liberty  and  citizenship 
that  is  accorded  to  the  Jews  of  Roumania  the  action 
of  the  delegates  at  the  conference  was  to  us  a  disappoint- 
ment. 

Upon  being  informed  of  the  action  taken  by  the 
conference  on  the  American  note,  the  following  com- 
munication was  sent  to  the  Secretary  of  State: 

"  Chicago,  August  9,  1913. 
"Hon.  W.  J.  Bryan,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"Dear  Sir:  According  to  the  news  reports,  your  appeal  for 
equal  rights  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Balkan  states,  regardless 
of  creed,  did  not  meet  with  the  measure  of  success  which  it  de- 
served, and  which  was  so  ardently  hoped  for  it  by  the  sufferers 
in  at  least  one  of  the  countries  in  question. 

"Such  result,  while  it  may  temporarily  disappoint,  does  not 
discourage  those  who  are  patiently  waiting,  and  those  who  are 
prayerfully  watching  and  hoping  for  the  day  that  will  witness 
the  principle  you  advocated  in  universal  operation  among  civil- 
ized men ;  for  it  is  a  part  of  their  philosophy  to  regard  every  effort 
in  the  right  direction  as  a  step  further  toward  the  ultimate 
attainment  of  that  fundamental  justice,  which  to  be  more  fully 
accorded  needs  only  to  be  better  understood. 

"Your  position  on  this  question  as  Secretary  of  State  of  this 
great  nation  reflects  credit  on  you  as  well  as  upon  the  State. 
The  names  of  those  in  power  who  stand  up  for  the  rights  of  man 
will  live  and  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  long  after  they 
are  gone. 

"Please  permit  me  to  express  to  youon  behalf  of  the  organi- 
zation I  represent,  as  well  as  personally,our  very  great  apprecia- 
tion of  your  action  in  the  premises. 

"Very  truly  yours, 

Adolf  Kraus." 


THE  JEW  201 

Mr.  Bryan  subsequently  issued  a  formal  statement 
paraphrasing  his  note,  saying  that  he  received  vigorous 
representations  from  Jews  all  over  the  country  against 
the  treatment  of  their  co-religionists  in  the  Balkan 
states  and  especially  in  Roumania;  that  several  com- 
mittees of  prominent  Jews  had  called  on  him,  on  one 
of  which  was  Simon  Wolf,  formerly  president  of  the 
B'nai  B'rith,  and  that  it  was  because  of  the  fair  repre- 
sentations of  these  committees  that  he  had  dispatched 
the  note  to  Bucharest. 

Upon  America's  entrance  into  the  World  War  the 
B'nai  B'rith  established  at  its  own  expense  clubs  in 
cities  near  soldiers'  camps,  for  the  purpose  of  enter- 
taining and  taking  care  of  soldiers  regardless  of  creed 
when  visiting  the  city  on  leave  of  absence.  The  first 
of  these  clubs  was  established  in  Rockford,  Illinois. 
Similar  clubs  were  soon  afterwards  established  by  the 
Order  near  other  camps.  The  War  Department  ap- 
proved of  this  action.  Raymond  B.  Fosdick,  Chair- 
man of  the  Commission  on  Training  Activities  wrote: 

"Dear  Mr.  Kraus — Your  activity  at  Rockford  which  has 
already  been  brought  to  our  attention,  is  a  very  creditable  piece 
of  work  and  it  is  to  be  sincerely  hoped  that  you  will  continue  it 
and  extend  it." 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  when  the  American  delegates 
to  the  Peace  Conference  were  about  to  leave  for  Paris, 
I  wrote  to  President  Wilson  the  following  letter: 

"Chicago,  November  14,  1918. 
"Mr.  President: 

"The  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith  is  an  international 
Jewish  fraternal  organization  of  more  than  seventy-rive  years' 
standing,  with  branches  in  almost  all  countries  of  Europe,  Asia 
Minor,  and  in  Egypt. 

"While  the  war  was  in  progress  I  received  requests  from 
leading  Jews  of  those  countries  to  appeal,  when  hostilities  should 


202  REMINISCENCES 

cease  and  the  Peace  Conference  meet,  to  you,  who  have  taken  such 
a  broad  and  humane  view  of  the  European  situation,  not  only  to 
aid  in  obtaining  for  the  small  nations  the  right  of  self-government, 
but  also  to  secure  for  all  inhabitants  of  those  lands  equal  rights, 
regardless  of  their  religious  belief,  and,  should  a  tribunal  of 
nations  be  established,  power  to  enforce  those  rights  for  that 
tribunal. 

"I  have  hesitated,  Mr.  President,  to  submit  such  an  appeal 
to  you,  because  I  felt  sure  that  you  would  on  your  own  initiative 
insist  that  justice  be  done  to  all  peoples.  My  apology  for  address- 
ing you  at  this  time,  when  so  many  important  subjects  are  re- 
quiring your  attention,  is  that  I  owe  it  as  a  duty  to  those  for 
whom  I  speak.  I  am  confident  that  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to 
submit  facts  showing  how  essential  is  it  for  the  future  safety  and 
happiness  of  my  co-religionists  that  the  allied  powers  consider 
their  situation. 

"You  have  been  so  wonderfully  well  informed  of  the  Euro- 
pean situation  that  I  believe  there  is  nothing  I  can  say  which  will 
furnish  you  additional  information.  However,  if  you  desire,  I 
shall  be  glad  to  come  to  Washington  and  give  such  information 
as  I  possess. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be 

"Yours  most  respectfully, 
Adolf  Kraus." 


THE  JEW  203 

The  following  was  received  in  reply: 


THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

WASHINGTON 


27  November,  1918 


My  dear  Mr.  Kraus: 

There  was  certainly  no  need  to  apologize  for 
your  interesting  letter  of  the  14th  of  November,  which 
was,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  delayed  in  reaching  me  because  it 
was  sent  to  the  wrong  department. 

I  appreciate  very  fully  the  grave  matter  to  which 
the  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith  directed  you  to 
call  my  attention,  and  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  it  will  be 
very  much  in  my  mind  during  the  conferences  on  the  other 
side  of  the  water. 

Cordially  and  sincerely  yours. 


Mr.  Adolf  Kraus, 

Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith, 

Chicago,  111. 

The  Executive  Committee  voted  the  gold  medal  to 
President  Wilson  for  the  year  1918.  Simon  Wolf 
notified  me  that  the  President  would  receive  us  on 
Thanksgiving  Day  at  11 :  00  A.  M.  Henry  Morgenthau, 
Simon  Wolf,  our  secretary  and  I  were  cordially  received 


204  REMINISCENCES 

and  after  formalities  of  greeting  were  over  I  addressed 
the  President  as  follows: 

"Mr.  President: 

"It  is  by  the  comparison  of  opposites  that  we  learn  to  dis- 
tinguish that  which  is  good  from  that  which  is  evil,  or  less  good. 
Love  is  the  more  beautiful,  as  hate  is  the  more  repugnant; 
charity  is  the  sweeter  as  selfishness  becomes  the  more  odious; 
liberty  is  the  dearer  as  tyranny  is  the  more  oppressive;  and  justice 
is  the  more  desirable  as  we  realize  the  cruelty  and  misery  occa- 
sioned by  injustice.  For  centuries  the  heroes  were  those  who 
succeeded  in  war;  the  more  men  they  killed  the  greater  was 
their  fame,  and  they  were  the  idols  of  the  masses. 

"The  names  of  such  men  as  Alexander,  Hannibal,  Caesar, 
Napoleon,  were  shining  lights  in  history.  Events  have  lately 
taken  place  which  will  cause  the  historian  to  record  and  the  people 
of  the  world  to  learn  that  it  is  not  the  man  who  engages  in  war 
to  gain  land  or  enslave  people,  but  he  who  enters  war  to  gain 
peace  for  mankind  whose  name  should  go  down  to  posterity  and 
be  remembered  with  gratitude. 

"You,  Mr.  President,  have  occupied  the  position  as  cham- 
pion on  the  side  of  permanent  peace,  a  leader  in  the  fight  against 
militarism,  cruelty  and  misery. 

"The  people  of  this  country  are  fortunate  in  having  at  this 
time  as  their  leader,  a  man  whose  words  carry  weight,  not  only 
with  the  Allies  but  even  with  the  defeated  nations. 

"The  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith  has  directed  that 
a  gold  medal  be  awarded  not  more  than  once  a  year  to  the  man, 
regardless  of  creed,  who  has  contributed  most  during  the  year 
to  the  welfare  of  the  Jewish  people  and  humanity.  The  Execu- 
tive Committee  of  the  Order  unanimously  decided  that  this 
year  the  medal  be  awarded  to  you,  Mr.  President,  and  so,  on 
behalf  of  the  Order,  we  have  the  honor  to  present  to  you  this 
medal,  in  the  hope  that  in  your  estimation  it  may  find  some 
measure  of  value  as  a  token  of  our  deep  gratitude  to  you  and  our 
sincere  admiration  for  you,  both  as  a  man  and  as  our  National 
Head;  and  in  the  hope — nay  in  the  belief  that  as  the  years  go 
by,  it  will  have  a  greater  value  to  you  and  yours  because  of  its 
association  with  the  great  acts  of  a  great  leader  of  a  great  people, 
which  the  riper  judgment  of  the  years  will  record  as  those  which 
sped  forward  the  cause  of  human  liberty  a  thousand  years." 

The  President  replied  as  follows: 

"I  cannot  extemporaneously  reply  adequately  to  your  very 
beautiful  address,  sir,  but  I  can  reply  with  great  feeling  and  with 


THE  JEW  205 

the  most  genuine  gratitude  to  the  Order  for  the  distinguished 
honor  they  have  paid  me. 

"I  am  sometimes  embarrassed  by  occasions  of  this  sort,  be- 
cause I  know  the  great  tasks  that  lie  ahead  of  us.  The  past  is 
secure,  but  the  future  is  doubtful,  and  there  are  so  many  ques- 
tions intimately  associated  with  justice  that  are  to  be  solved  at 
the  peace  table  and  by  the  commissions  which  no  doubt  will  be 
arranged  for  at  the  peace  table,  that  I  feel  in  one  sense  as  if  our 
work  of  justice  had  just  begun.  I  realize  that,  for  one  thing, 
one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  will  be  to  secure  the  proper 
guarantees  for  the  just  treatment  of  the  Jewish  people  in  the 
countries  where  they  have  not  been  justly  dealt  with,  and 
unhappily  there  are  several  countries  of  which  that  may  be 
said. 

4 'And  the  embarrassment  in  that  connection  is  this.  It  is 
one  thing  to  give  a  people  its  right  of  self-determination,  but  it 
is  another  to  enter  into  its  internal  affairs  and  get  satisfactory 
guarantees  of  the  use  it  will  make  of  its  independence  and  its 
power,  because  that,  in  a  way,  involves  a  kind  of  supervision 
which  is  hateful  to  the  people  concerned  and  difficult  to  those 
who  undertake  it. 

"But  I  do  not  care  to  dwell  on  the  difficulties.  I  would 
rather  dwell  upon  the  purpose  that  we  all  have  at  heart  to  see 
that  the  nearest  possible  approach  is  made  to  a  proper  solution 
of  questions  of  this  sort,  and  I  think  that  this  will  be  evident  to 
everybody  who  is  dealing  with  the  affairs  of  the  world  at  this 
time,  that  if  we  truly  intend  peace  we  must  truly  intend  content- 
ment, because  there  cannot  be  any  peace  with  disturbed  spirits. 
There  cannot  be  any  peace  with  a  constantly  recurring  sense  of 
injustice.  And,  therefore,  we  have  this  challenge  to  put  to  the 
peoples  who  will  be  concerned  with  the  settlement.  Do  you, 
or  do  you  not,  truly  desire  permanent  peace,  and  are  you  ready 
to  pay  the  price — the  only  price — which  will  secure  it?  It  will 
be  awkward  for  them  to  answer  that  question  except  in  the 
affirmative,  and  impossible  for  them  to  answer  it  genuinely  in 
the  affirmative  unless  they  intend  that  every  race  shall  have 
justice.  So  that  I  think  the  probability  is  that  the  more  plainly 
we  speak — I  do  not  mean  the  more  harshly — but  the  more 
plainly  and  candidly  we  speak,  the  more  probable  it  will  be  that 
we  shall  arrive  at  just  settlement.  And  in  the  attempt  that  I 
shall  personally  make,  I  shall  be  very  much  encouraged  by  kind- 
ly acts  such  as  your  Order,  as  represented  by  you,  performed  today 
and  I  hope  that  you  will  convey  to  your  associates  my  very  deep 
sense  of  the  honor  and  distinction  they  have  conferred  upon  me. 
Thank  you  very  much  indeed." 


206  REMINISCENCES 

When  the  President  and  Mrs.  Wilson  departed  for 
Europe  on  the  steamer,  " George  Washington,"  I  tele- 
graphed the  following  message: 

"We  will  pray  for  your  and  Mrs.  Wilson's  safe  return  home 
and  that  by  your  help  Isaiah's  prophecy  may  be  fulfilled;  namely 
— and  the  work  of  righteousness  shall  be  peace  and  the  effect  of 
righteousness  quietness  and  assurance  forever." 

Nearly  all  the  Jewish  societies  of  the  Jewish  organi- 
zations of  America  sent  representatives  to  a  meeting 
which  was  held  in  New  York  City  on  November  26, 
1916,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Jewish  congress. 
I  was  elected  temporary  chairman  and  presided  all  day. 
Towards  evening  the  committee  on  organization  re- 
ported, recommending  me  for  the  position  of  perma- 
nent chairman,  the  minority  recommending  Mr.  Louis 
Marshall.  Each  of  us  declined  and  thereupon  Mr. 
Nathan  Straus  was  unanimously  elected. 

The  situation  of  the  Jews  in  Roumania  was  deplor- 
able. Mr.  Chas.  J.  Vopicka  of  Chicago,  a  personal 
friend  of  mine,  was  American  minister  to  Roumania, 
and  I  was  in  correspondence  with  him.  I  asked  him  to 
do  all  he  properly  could  do  to  alleviate  the  condition 
of  our  people  in  that  country.  That  Mr.  Vopicka, 
acting  within  the  proprieties  of  his  position  and  with 
the  consent  of  the  American  Government,  did  all  that 
was  humanly  possible,  is  attested  by  a  report  which  I 
received  of  the  persecutions  of  the  Jewish  people  there, 
which  concluded  as  follows: 

"As  terrible  as  are  the  facts  herein  set  forth,  they  would  have 
been  worse  if  our  luck  had  not  brought  here  at  the  head  of  the 
diplomatic  mission  of  the  United  States  the  Honorable  Charles 
J.  Vopicka,  who  has  shown  for  all  the  miseries  which  afflicted 
the  Jewish  population  of  Roumania  not  only  a  mind  full  of 
understanding  but  a  heart  full  of  sympathy  and  human  love,  a 
compassion  which  made  him  act  and  interfere  in  behalf  of  every 


THE  JEW  207 

persecuted  one  everywhere.  He  helped  always  where  protection 
was  needed  and  might  be  given. 

"It  will  be  sufficient  to  mention  one  fact  which  clearly  shows 
what  Mr.  Vopicka  has  meant  and  still  means  to  the  Jews  of 
Roumania.  In  November,  1918,  he  chanced  to  hear  by  mere 
rumor  that  a  pogrom  was  planned  against  the  Jews.  He  in- 
terfered at  '  propria  motu '  with  General  Cuanda,  then  Minister- 
President,  and  so  energetically  that  the  Government  was  com- 
pelled to  take  necessary  measures.  The  excesses  were  prevented 
and  many  lives  saved. 

"Mr.  Vopicka  in  consequence  is  justly  considered  by  the 
whole  Jewish  population  as  the  representative  of  true  democracy 
and  as  the  only  man  who  has  rescued  and  can  rescue  them  in 
evil  days  of  oppression  and  weariness." 

Early  in  December,  1918,  I  received  a  cablegram 
from  Denmark  that  a  massacre  of  Jews  was  to  take 
place  in  Roumania  on  December  8,  1918.  I  sent  the 
following  telegram  to  our  Secretary  of  State  at  Washing- 
ton: 

"Received  the  following  cable  from  our  B'nai  B'rith  Lodge 
at  Copenhagen:  'Alarming  news  has  arrived  here  of  impending 
massacres  of  Roumanian  Jews.  Request  your  government  to 
take  steps  to  protect  the  Jews  against  the  expected  pogroms.' 
Will  you  kindly  cause  the  Roumanian  government's  attention 
to  be  called  to  this  report?" 

On  the  fourteenth,  I  received  from  the  State  De- 
partment the  following  answer: 

"The  department  begs  to  inform  you  that  it  has  brought  this 
information  to  the  attention  of  the  American  Legation  in  Rou- 
mania by  cable,  and  has  requested  an  investigation  and  report." 

When  Mr.  Vopicka  visited  his  home  in  August,  1919, 
he  told  me  that  upon  receipt  of  the  State  Department's 
cablegram  he  had  promptly  obtained  an  audience  with 
King  Ferdinand,  during  which  the  King  informed  him 
that  the  Jews  of  Bessarabia  were  somewhat  alarmed  for 
their  safety,  but  without  good  cause,  and  that  pre- 
cautionary measures  had  been  taken  to  prevent  a 
massacre.     The  massacre  did  not  take  place. 


208  REMINISCENCES 

On  February  26,  1920,  I  was  seventy  years  of  age. 
Simon  Wolf  of  Washington,  and  Secretary  Seelenfreund, 
anticipating  the  date  had  arranged  a  surprise  birthday 
celebration  in  my  honor.  On  the  evening  of  February 
26th,  more  than  five  hundred  guests  assembled  in  the 
large  banquet  hall  of  the  Hotel  LaSalle.  Honorable 
William  Howard  Taft,  ex-President,  came  to  Chicago 
to  attend  the  banquet  and  delivered  an  address. 
Guests  were  present  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 
Lucius  L.  Solomons  of  San  Francisco  and  Rabbi  Edw. 
N.  Calisch  of  Richmond,  also  delivered  addresses. 
Congratulatory  letters  and  telegrams  were  received  at 
the  banquet  from  lodges,  congregations,  hospitals, 
orphan  asylums,  old  people's  homes,  public  officials, 
members  of  my  family  and  personal  friends.  They 
came  from  one  hundred  ninety-nine  different  cities  and 
towns  in  America,  and  from  the  following  cities  of 
other  lands:  Prague,  Czecho-Slovakia;  Copenhagen, 
Denmark;  Zurich,  Switzerland;  London,  England; 
Reichenberg,  Pilsen,  Budweis,  Bruenn,  Troppau,  Tep- 
litz,  Karlsbad,  all  Czecho-Slovakia;  Vienna,  Austria; 
Sofia,  Bulgaria;  Krakau,  Poland;  Breslau  and  Berlin, 
Germany;  Bucharest,  Roumania;  Jerusalem,  Palestine; 
Cairo,  Egypt;  Smyrna,  Turkey;  Beyrouth  and  Con- 
stantinople, Turkey;  Varna,  Bulgaria;  Alexandria, 
Egypt;  Salonica,  Greece;  Adrianople,  Turkey;  Jassy, 
Roumania;  Piatra,  Roumania;  Lemberg,  Poland ;  Galatz, 
Roumania;  Roustchuk,  Bulgaria;  Nice,  France;  from 
Opava  and  Buzda  and  one  from  China. 

The  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith,  had  been  active  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  through  the  able,  loyal  and 
generous  support  of  its  officers  and  members  had  con- 
tributed  very   largely  and    effectively  to  the  relief  of 


THE  JEW  209 

suffering  humanity ;  as  a  result  of  which  it  had  become 
well  and  favorably  known  to  the  public.  Sweet,  there- 
fore, as  was  the  warmth  and  geniality  of  that  seventieth 
birthday  banquet,  as  were  the  kind  and  generous  ex- 
pressions of  the  able  speakers  who  delivered  addresses  on 
that  occasion,  and  of  the  messages  which  were  received, 
I  realized  then,  as  I  do  now,  that  the  tribute  was  not 
personal,  but  that  it  was  a  tribute  rather  to  the  great 
organization  of  which  I  happened  for  the  time  being 
to  be  the  head,  for  the  great  things  it  had  accomplished. 
The  messages  which  were  received  on  that  occasion 
were  •  preserved  by  my  good  wife  and  caused  to  be 
bound  up  in  book  form.  A  few  of  them  are  quoted 
below : 

From  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy: 

11 1  am  gratified  to  learn  that  the  seventieth  birthday  anniver- 
sary of  the  Honorable  Adolf  Kraus,  President  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  B'nai  B'rith,  is  to  be  held  in  Chicago,  February  26th. 
His  long  life  marked  by  generous  deeds  in  ameliorating  the  con- 
ditions of  the  Jewish  people  all  over  the  world,  and  his  genuine 
Americanism,  have  won  him  the  esteem  not  only  of  those  who 
have  the  pleasure  of  his  personal  acquaintance,  but  of  those  who 
know  of  his  benefactions  and  noble  nature.  The  Independent 
Order  of  B'nai  B'rith  stands  among  those  of  whom  it  may  be 
truly  said  they  have  manifested  always  that  they  love  their 
fellowmen  and  given  practical  proof  of  this  love. 

"Sincerely  yours, 

Josephus  Daniels." 

From  the  Secretary  of  Commerce: 

"I  note  that  the  seventieth  birthday  anniversary  of  the  Hon- 
orable Adolf  Kraus,  President  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
B'nai  B'rith,  a  national  and  international  organization,  will  be 
celebrated  at  the  Hotel  LaSalle,  Chicago,  Illinois,  on  February 
26th. 

"Mr.  Kraus  has  been  president  of  this  organization  for  a 
great  many  years  and  this  organization  has  been  a  great  and 
important  factor  in  the  last  eighty  years  in  ameliorating  the 
condition  of  the  Jewish  people  all  over  the  world.     Mr.  Kraus 


210  REMINISCENCES 

has,  during  a  long  life,  enjoyed  an  enviable  reputation  for  high- 
minded  Americanism  and  strict  integrity. 

"I  congratulate  the  Order  upon  its  long  and  useful  career 
and  Mr.  Kraus  upon  having  enjoyed  a  long  life  of  usefulness  to 
his  country  and  to  his  people,  and  wish  him  many  more  years  of 
usefulness  and  happiness. 

"Very  truly  yours, 

J.  W.  Alexander." 

From  the  Secretary  of  War,  Washington : 

"February  11,  1920. 
"When  I  first  came  to  know  the  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith  it 
was  then  engaged,  as  it  has  been  since  engaged,  in  wide-spread 
benevolence  and  good  works.  I  am  happy,  therefore,  to  con- 
gratulate Mr.  Kraus  that  his  seventieth  birthday  anniversary 
finds  his  career  capped  by  the  presidency  of  this  great  society, 
and  to  congratulate  him  that  he  is  permitted  to  contribute  to 
its  work  the  fine  reputation  which  he  has  made  in  America  as 
an  upright  business  man  and  a  loyal  and  useful  citizen. 

Newton  D.  Baker." 

Department    of    Labor,    Office    of    the    Secretary, 

Washington : 

"February  12,  1920. 
"I  am  glad  to  convey  to  the  Hon.  Adolf  Kraus,  the  President 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith,  my  sincere  felicitations 
on  the  celebration  of  his  70th  year.  The  record  of  his  good  works 
throughout  a  long  and  useful  life  is,  however,  the  best  crown  of 
so  many  years  devoted  to  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-men.  The 
connection  of  Mr.  Kraus  with  the  B'nai  B'rith  organization 
during  the  last  decade  and  a  half  is  in  itself  a  testimonial  to  the 
high  ideals  of  that  association,  and  reciprocally  his  continued 
leadership  of  such  an  organization  is  a  tribute  to  his  own  char- 
acter. 

W.  B.  Wilson." 

Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Washington: 

"February  13,  1920. 
"On  the  coming  celebration  of  the  seventieth  birthday  of 
Hon.  Adolf  Kraus,  President  of  the  Independent  Order  of  B'nai 
B'rith,  I  extend  to  him  my  hearty  congratulations  upon  reaching 
his  three  score  years  and  ten.  I  know  that  he  heads  an  organi- 
zation that  is  one  of  the  most  liberal  and  useful  in  the  country. 
I  trust  it  may  grow  in  numbers  and  in  power  for  good. 

Franklin  K.  Lane." 


THE  JEW  211 

"It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  extend  to  you  my  hearty 
congratulations  on  your  many  years  of  service  to  our  city.  Your 
tireless  work  in  behalf  of  Jewry  throughout  the  world  has  been 
an  inspiration  to  thousands  and  a  lesson  to  mankind.  May 
your  years  be  many  more  and  replete  with  usefulness. 

Julius  Rosen wald." 

"I  congratulate  you  on  having  reached  the  venerable  age  of 
seventy.  Your  magnificent  record  of  services  well  rendered 
must  be  a  glorious  memory  of  your  past  life.  May  the  future 
hold  still  in  store  for  you  many  years  of  health  and  youthfulness, 
which  means  happiness. 

Nathan  Straus." 

11  May  I  ask  you  to  convey  to  Mr.  Adolf  Kraus  my  warmest 
congratulations  and  good  wishes  upon  his  attainment  of  three 
score  and  ten?  Mr.  Kraus  has  rendered  and  is  continuing  to 
do  such  valiant  service  in  the  cause  of  Jewry  throughout  the 
world  that  he  well  deserves  the  acclaim  and  good  will  of  his 
fellows  on  this  his  great  jubilee.  My  sincere  prayer  is  that  he 
may  be  maintained  in  undiminished  health  and  strength  of  body 
and  mind  for  many  years  to  come  to  the  joy  of  his  family,  his 
friends  and  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow  beings.  I  am  deeply 
sorry  that,  for  reasons  I  have  explained  to  you,  it  has  not  been 
possible  for  me  to  come  to  Chicago  and  personally  join  in  the 
honors  which  are  being  paid  to  Mr.  Kraus. 

Jacob  H.  Schiff." 

"All  hail  to  the  chief;  sincere  love  to  the  friend;  appreciation 
to  the  citizen;  honor  and  respect  for  the  loyal  Jew.  May  the 
days  yet  to  come  bring  you  health,  happiness  and  good  cheer. 

Simon  Wolf." 

"I  wish  to  be  one  of  the  great  number  of  your  friends  who 
would  have  you  know  how  heartily  we  rejoice  in  your  attaining 
your  seventieth  birthday  and  how  devoutly  we  hope  that  God 
may  give  you  many  more  years  in  which  to  serve  your  people 
and  all  causes  high. 

"I  write  this  note  with  peculiar  feeling  because  I  cannot  help 
recalling  how  affectionately  Otto  would  have  remembered  your 
birthday  and  sent  you  his  good  wishes.  He  cherished  you 
deeply  and  always  spoke  of  you  in  terms  of  unfeigned  and  tender 
regard. 

"  May  happiness  be  yours  in  the  years  that  lie  before  you  and 
unabaited  and  undimmed  strength  for  the  work  which  you  have 
done  for  many  years  with  fine  devotion  and  real  consecration. 

Stephen  S.  Wise." 


212  REMINISCENCES 

"For  a  time  Kraus  filled  the  office  of  Corporation  Counsel  of 
Chicago.  For  many  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education  and  for  several  terms  its  President.  A  loyal  citizen 
he,  a  co-worker  in  all  things  making  for  the  betterment  of  men 
and  their  conditions,  a  sturdy  pleader  of  the  cause  of  the  down- 
trodden Jews,  our  friend  has  indeed  filled  the  three  score  and 
ten  of  his  life  with  meaning  and  great  and  lasting  worth.  We 
rejoice  that  his  cup  of  life  now  brims  with  '  Yayin, '  wine  of  such 
fine  quality.  'Yayin'  wine  equivalents  in  its  Hebrew  lettering 
the  number  seventy.  Now,  in  accordance  with  the  amendment 
to  the  constitution,  'Yayin'  wine  may  have  to  be  replaced 
with  'Mayim'  water,  but  'Mayim'  spells  ninety.  May  the  bumpers 
filled  with  water  in  which  we  shall  pledge  his  health  augur  that 
for  at  least  another  decade  we  shall  enjoy  the  presence  among  us 
in  health  and  full  vigor  of  our  beloved  Parness.  Perhaps  a  good 
Providence  will  answer  our  petition  that  to  Ken  (also  seventy) 
wekoh  (31)  yoseph  lo,  in  English  may  He  who  gave  him 
seventy  years  add  wekoh  (31)  round  of  happy  and  meaningful 
years  to  their  measure  of  days.  To  this  wish  I  am  proud  to 
say  Amen,  so  may  it  be!  Ad  Meah  Shanim — until  and  beyond 
the  century  milepost."  ,  Dr.  Emil  G.  Hirsch." 

After  the  close  of  the  war  much  of  my  time  was 
taken  up  with  answering  appeals  for  assistance  from 
European  countries.  The  B'nai  B'rith  lodges  in 
Prague,  Czecho-Slovakia,  owned  a  club  house  in 
February,  1920,  I  was  informed  that  the  Government 
of  Czecho-Slovakia  was  proposing  to  take  over  this 
club  house  for  some  purpose  of  its  own,  without  any 
compensation  to  the  owners.  I  cabled  to  President 
Masaryk,  with  whom  I  became  acquainted  about 
forty  years  ago  in  Chicago,  against  such  action,  claim- 
ing on  behalf  of  the  Order  an  interest  in  the  matter. 
A  few  months  afterwards  I  was  advised  that,  "As  a 
result  of  the  intervention  by  the  President  of  the  Order, 
the  proposed  confiscation  of  the  B'nai  B'rith  building 
in  Prague  by  the  Government  authorities  had  not  been 
carried  into  execution,  that  the  order  for  such  confisca- 
tion was  revoked." 


THE  JEW  213 

On  November  20,  1919,  I  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of 
State  the  following  letter: 

"To  the  Honorable  Robert  Lansing, 
Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C.        November  20,  1919. 

"Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  address  you  in  regard  to  the  action 
taken  at  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Independ- 
ent Order  B'nai  B'rith  held  in  Chicago  this  week,  at  which 
numerous  petitions  were  presented  by  lodges  of  the  Order  and 
by  individuals  calling  attention  to  apparently  authenticated 
press  reports  regarding  excesses  and  pogroms  practiced  against 
Jews  in  various  parts  of  the  territory  of  what  was  formerly  the 
Russian  Empire  and  particularly  in  that  part  now  known  as  the 
Republic  of  the  Ukraine,  and  requesting  steps  to  secure  sympa- 
thetic action  of  our  government  with  a  view  to  preventing  a 
repetition  of  these  outrages. 

"The  Executive  Committee  is  well  aware  of  the  earnest 
efforts  made  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  yourself 
to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  all  oppressed  peoples  and  we  are 
especially  cognizant  of  his  and  your  untiring  efforts  to  relieve 
and  protect  as  far  as  possible  the  Jewish  people  in  certain  parts 
of  Europe  from  the  suffering  which  they  have  been  made  to 
endure. 

"In  view  of  these  recent  outrages,  however,  the  Executive 
Committee  feels  that  it  is  its  duty  to  lay  before  you  as  the  head 
of  the  State  Department,  such  information  as  has  come  to  its 
knowledge,  so  that  this  government  may  have  a  definite  basis 
for  protest  and  action.  To  this  end,  therefore,  the  Executive 
Committee  has  deemed  it  wise  to  appoint  a  committee  of  three, 
of  which  the  Honorable  Simon  Wolf  is  Chairman,  to  call  on  you 
at  the  earliest  possible  moment  and  lay  the  matter  before  you 
in  person. 

"  Permit  me,  therefore,  on  behalf  of  the  Order,  as  well  as  on 
behalf  of  all  American  citizens  of  the  Jewish  faith,  to  bespeak  for 
this  committee  and  its  cause  your  earnest  consideration  and 
sympathetic  action.  With  renewed  expressions  of  respect  and 
esteem,  I  have  the  honor  to  be        Most  respectfully  yours> 

Adolf  Kraus.  " 

I  sent  a  copy  of  the  letter  to  Simon  Wolf,  with  the 

suggestion  that  he  call  on  the  Secretary.    He  answered 

as  follows: 

"Had  interview  with  Secretary  Lansing.  He  said  that  the 
Government  was  doing  everything  it  could,  but  unfortunately 


214  REMINISCENCES 

we  had  no  means  of  enforcing  our  stand,  since  we  had  no  repre- 
sentative in  the  Ukraine ;  that  efforts  are  now  being  made  looking 
toward  a  stopping  of  the  pogroms  and  the  amelioration  of  the 
distress,  and  that  the  sympathies  of  the  American  government 
were  in  full  accord  with  our  viewpoint. 

Simon  Wolf." 

On  November  23,  1920,  a  communication  was  re- 
ceived from  the  lodge  in  Zurich,  Switzerland,  request- 
ing financial  assistance  to  aid  in  its  work  of  caring  for 
poor  children  sent  from  Vienna  to  Switzerland  to  re- 
gain their  health.     The  request  was  granted. 

The  following  report  was  received  from  Vienna: 

"This  terrible  war  has  no  equal  in  the  world's  history. 
Would  that  this  disgrace  should  end.  Would  that  the  surviving 
fathers  and  mothers  could  embrace  their  sons,  the  lonely  wives 
their  husbands,  the  children  their  fathers.  Only  then  shall  we 
be  able  to  think  of  something  else,  and  the  brothers  and  sisters 
who  for  years  have  worried  themselves  to  death  with  grief  for 
their  beloved  ones  will  be  able  to  think  of  work  again. 

"The  brethren  of  the  Vienna  lodges  would  be  guilty  of  gross 
neglect  of  duty  would  they  not  think  in  gratitude  of  the  activity 
of  the  President  of  our  Order,  Mr.  Kraus,  and  the  Secretary, 
Brother  Seelenfreund,  for  the  comfort  which  they  sent  to  the 
prisoners  in  Siberia,  thus  earning  the  gratitude  of  their  relatives 
at  home.  This  love  and  admiration  will  never  be  forgotten. 
The  Executive  Committee  earned  the  gratitude  of  all  brothers 
also  by  its  generosity  in  sending  us  food  drafts.  We  are  glad 
and  happy  to  acknowledge  the  letter  of  the  President  in  which 
he  informed  us  that  he  sent  to  Vienna  food  drafts  sufficient  to 
protect  all  brothers  from  want.  This  letter  was  a  ray  of  light 
in  the  darkness  of  our  misery.  We  are  not  merely  protected 
in  the  gravest  emergency  but  we  feel  comforted  by  the  prompt- 
ness with  which  our  brothers  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  President  are  remembering  us.  The 
older  members  were  not  surprised  at  this  fact  for  we  know  our 
President  personally  from  his  visits  in  1909  and  1912,  and  have 
learned  to  love  him.  We  know  he  is  the  right  man  in  the  right 
place.  Whatever  he  begins  is  done  efficiently  and  prompted  by 
a  noble  heart." 

Ex-President  Taft  was  the  guest  of  the  Anti-Defama- 
tion League  in  Chicago  in  January,  1921.    He  delivered 


THE  JEW  215 

an  address  printed  in  the  B'nai  B'rith  News  of  that 
month,  in  which  he  denounced,  and  demonstrated  the 
injustice  of  anti-Semitic  attacks. 

In  the  same  month  and  year  the  following  protest 
against  anti-Semitism  was  published : 

"The  undersigned,  citizens  of  Gentile  birth  and  Christian 
faith,  view  with  profound  regret  and  disapproval  the  appear- 
ance in  this  country  of  what  is  apparently  an  organized  campaign 
of  anti-Semitism,  conducted  in  close  conformity  to,  and  coopera- 
tion with,  similar  campaigns  in  Europe.  We  regret  exceedingly 
the  publication  of  a  number  of  books,  pamphlets  and  newspaper 
articles  designed  to  foster  distrust  and  suspicion  of  our  fellow- 
citizens  of  Jewish  ancestry  and  faith — distrust  and  suspicion  of 
their  loyalty  and  their  patriotism. 

"These  publications,  to  which  wide  circulation  is  being 
given,  are  thus  introducing  into  our  national  political  life  a  new 
and  dangerous  spirit,  one  that  is  wholly  at  variance  with  our 
traditions  and  ideals  and  subversive  of  our  system  of  govern- 
ment. American  citizenship  and  American  democracy  are  thus 
challenged  and  menaced.  We  protest  against  this  organized 
campaign  of  prejudice  and  hatred,  not  only  because  of  its  mani- 
fest injustice  to  those  against  whom  it  is  directed,  but  also  and 
especially,  because  we  are  convinced  that  it  is  wholly  incompati- 
ble with  loyal  and  intelligent  American  citizenship.  The  logical 
outcome  of  the  success  of  such  a  campaign  must  necessarily  be 
the  division  of  our  citizens  along  racial  and  religious  lines,  and, 
ultimately,  the  introduction  of  religious  tests  and  qualifications 
to  determine  citizenship. 

"The  loyalty  and  patriotism  of  our  fellow  citizens  of  the 
Jewish  faith  is  equal  to  that  of  any  part  of  our  people,  and  re- 
quires no  defense  at  our  hands.  From  the  foundation  of  this 
Republic  down  to  the  recent  World  War,  men  and  women  of 
Jewish  ancestry  and  faith  have  taken  an  honorable  part  in  build- 
ing up  this  great  nation  and  maintaining  its  prestige  and  honor 
among  the  nations  of  the  world.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
justification,  therefore,  for  a  campaign  of  anti-Semitism  in  this 
country. 

"Anti-Semitism  is  almost  invariably  associated  with  lawless- 
ness and  with  brutality  and  injustice.  It  is  also  invariably 
found  closely  intertwined  with  other  sinister  forces,  particularly 
those  which  are  corrupt,  reactionary  and  oppressive. 

"We  believe  it  should  not  be  left  to  men  and  women  of 
Jewish  faith  to  fight  this  evil,  but  that  it  is  in  a  very  special 
sense  the  duty  of  citizens  who  are  not  Jews  by  ancestry  or  faith. 


216  REMINISCENCES 

We,  therefore,  make  earnest  protest  against  this  vicious  propa- 
ganda, and  call  upon  our  fellow  citizens  of  Gentile  birth  and 
Christian  faith  to  unite  their  efforts  to  ours  to  the  end  that  it 
may  be  crushed.  In  particular,  we  call  upon  all  those  who  are 
moulders  of  public  opinion — the  clergy  and  ministers  of  all 
Christian  churches,  publicists,  teachers,  editors  and  statesmen — 
to  strike  at  this  un-American  and  un-Christian  agitation." 

This  protest  was  signed  by  President  Woodrow 
Wilson,  Ex-President  William  Howard  Taft,  Cardinal 
O'Connell,  and  by  more  than  a  hundred  other  leading 
gentile  citizens,  composed  of  bishops,  professors,  clergy- 
men, editors  and  lawyers. 

When  the  disarmament  Conference  was  announced 
I  sent  the  following  telegram  to  President  Harding: 

"Mr.  President: 

"The  historical  moment  now  approaching  in  Washington 
has  once  again  stirred  in  Jewish  hearts  the  desire  to  seek  peace 
and  pursue  it.  The  Order  over  which  I  have  the  honor  to  preside 
and  all  its  members  representing  nearly  one  hundred  thousand 
Jewish  families,  will  watch  with  anxious  hearts  the  progress 
which  will  be  made  in  carrying  out  the  noble  aims  which  inspired 
you  to  call  the  Conference  for  Limitation  of  Armaments.  We 
extend  to  you  our  hopes  and  prayers  that  through  the  Confer- 
ence a  means  may  be  found  to  bring  within  our  lifetime  the  day 
when  swords  shall  be  beaten  into  plowshares  and  peace  shall 
reign  supreme  upon  earth. 

"Wars  and  the  consequences  of  wars  have  weighed  more 
heavily  upon  the  Jews  in  all  lands  than  they  have  upon  those  of 
other  faiths.  In  common  with  those  of  other  creeds  they  have 
given  all  to  the  lands  under  whose  protecting  flags  they  live. 
Patriotism,  heroism  and  self-sacrifice,  faith  and  devotion  have 
been  characteristic  of  the  Jewish  people  of  every  land  in  the  same 
degree  as  they  have  been  characteristic  of  citizens  of  other  faiths. 
The  poisonous  aftermath  of  war — its  hatreds  and  passions,  its 
miseries,  murders  and  lies,  have  been  visited  upon  them  in  far 
greater  measure.  A  people  with  this  historical  background  has 
a  long  emotional  memory  and  through  the  centuries  has  prayed 
with  fervent  hearts  for  the  dawn  of  that  day  which  the  present 
Conference  seems  to  portend. 

"May  God  be  with  you  in  your  deliberations  and  guide  you. 

"Very  respectfully, 

Adolf  Kraus." 


THE  JEW  217 

On  the  same  day  the  following  reply  was  received 
from  the  President's  secretary: 

"My  dear  Mr.  Kraus: 

"The  President  has  received  your  telegram  and  he  asks  me 
to  thank  you  and  all  concerned  for  it.  He  wishes  you  to  know- 
that  he  is  grateful  for  and  heartened  by  this  expression  of  appro- 
bation and  assurance  of  confidence. 

"Sincerely  yours, 

Geo.  B.  Christian,  Jr. 
Secretary  to  the  President." 

From  a  reliable  source  in  the  city  of  Posen  I  received 
a  letter  informing  me  of  a  strong  anti-Semitic  agitation 
then  being  carried  on  by  the  Polish  press,  resulting  in 
the  boycotting  of  Jewish  merchants,  which  forced  a 
number  of  them  to  quit  business  and  emigrate  to 
German  territory,  and  creating  a  general  fear  that 
pogroms  would  soon  follow  if  the  press  did  not  cease  its 
attacks.  Accordingly,  on  June  22,  1923,  I  wrote  to 
the  Polish  Envoy  in  Washington  as  follows: 

"The  Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith,  is  an  international 
Jewish  fraternal  organization  of  eighty  years'  standing,  with 
lodges  throughout  American  and  in  many  European  and  Asiatic 
countries.  Several  of  these  lodges  are  located  in  Poland.  They 
have  been  hoping  and  striving  toward  the  establishment  of 
better  relations  between  the  Jews  and  non-Jews  of  Poland.  I 
am  convinced  that  the  Polish  Government  and  the  better  ele- 
ments among  the  Polish  non-Jewish  citizens  are  doing  everything 
in  their  power  to  prevent  injustice  toward  the  Polish  Jew.  I 
know  that  you  will  not  misunderstand  me,  however,  if  I  take  the 
liberty  of  calling  to  your  attention,  certain  circumstances  which 
have  been  reported  to  me  from  what  appears  to  be  authentic 
sources,  so  that  you  may,  if  you  deem  it  politic,  inform  your 
government  of  the  anxiety  which  we  feel  as  a  result,  and  express 
to  your  government  our  hope  that  it  may  be  able  to  take  effec- 
tive measures  to  alleviate  these  conditions. 

"Specifically  my  information  is  that  the  Jews  in  the  provinces 
and  city  of  Posen  are  subject  to  bitter  political  as  well  as  business 
oppression  and  physical  violence  that  force  many  to  emigrate 
and  compel  the  disposition  of  real  and  personal  estates  at  great 
sacrifices;  that  those  who  are  unable  to  flee  are  now  being  daily 


218  REMINISCENCES 

attacked  by  the  press ;  and  that  they  are  driven  out  of  their  homes 
and  stores  under  the  pretext  of  having  concocted  treasonable 
plans.  Even  a  beautiful  lodge  building  which  was  erected  and 
furnished  by  the  members  of  our  organization  in  Posen  has  been 
taken  from  them.  The  Jews  who  once  prospered  in  the  city  of 
Posen  are  now  poor  and  in  need.  The  oppression  and  discrimina- 
tion to  which  they  have  been  subjected  is  such  that  today  they 
are  in  danger  of  not  being  able  to  support  their  own  humanitarian 
institutions  and  are  threatened  that  any  suspension  of  business 
on  the  part  of  such  institutions  will  result  in  their  seizure.  In 
Kosten  the  synagogue  was  taken  from  the  Jews  of  that  city, 
converted  into  a  public  kitchen  and  the  Jews  prohibited  from 
entering. 

"I  can  readily  understand  that  these  harassing  and  cruel 
actions  are  merely  the  expression  of  an  intense  nationalism  on 
the  part  of  some  Poles  who  are  reacting  from  the  sudden  shaking 
off  of  the  oppressive  power  of  three  conquering  nations.  I  be- 
lieve that  the  intense  spirit  of  nationalism,  which  in  so  many 
European  countries  has  taken  the  form  of  anti-Semitic  agitation 
and  oppression,  is  gradually  spending  its  force  and  the  more 
reasonable  and  conservative  elements  are  reasserting  themselves. 
I  feel  certain  that  the  Polish  Government  is  anxious  to  stem  the 
unbridled  passions  of  those  who  express  their  new-found  liberty 
in  terms  of  oppression  of  minorities  in  their  midst,  and  that  the 
condition  of  the  Jews  in  Poland,  as  time  goes  on,  will  gradually 
improve.  At  the  same  time  no  one  who  has  watched  the  develop- 
ment of  public  opinion  can  ignore  the  fact  that  anti-Semitic 
excesses  of  this  type  will  persist  and  the  resumption  of  friendly 
relations  thereby  will  be  greatly  retarded  unless  the  irresponsible 
agitators  are  made  to  understand  by  the  Polish  Government  in 
most  unmistakable  terms  that  their  conduct,  though  expressed 
in  terms  of  patriotism,  is  in  fact  the  negation  of  patriotism. 

"Please  do  not  understand  that  I  think  Poland  is  peculiar  in 
this  respect.  The  same  intense  nationalism  expressing  itself  in 
the  same  way  through  press  agitation  and  from  the  rostrum,  has 
exhibited  itself  even  in  America,  and  today  as  you  no  doubt 
know,  there  has  been  rapidly  developed  in  this  land,  which  has 
been  founded  upon  principles  of  religious  freedom  and  cordial 
relations  between  the  many  peoples  that  make  up  it  citizenry, 
a  spirit  of  hatred  on  the  part  of  a  portion  of  Protestants  against 
Catholics.  There  is  a  close  parallel  between  the  methods  by 
which  that  unjust  discrimination  against  American  citizens  of 
the  Catholic  faith  has  been  evolved  and  the  methods  which 
have  been  used  in  Poland  by  some  of  the  less  scrupulous  organs 
of  public  opinion  to  create  a  religious  and  racial  schism  between 
Jews  and  Catholics  in  your  country.     In  America  the  agitation 


THE  JEW  219 

of  the  Ku  Klux  Klan  which  has  been  denounced  by  leading 
citizens  in  our  land,  which  has  been  attacked  by  various  State 
Governments,  has  nevertheless  succeeded  in  arousing  so  much 
hatred  and  misunderstanding  that  it  will  take  many  years  to 
undo  the  evil  that  has  been  done.  Our  leading  publicists  in 
America  have  emphasized  over  and  over  again  the  great  danger 
to  America  and  its  institutions  resulting  from  such  unprincipled 
agitation  and  an  informed  public  opinion  will  surely  put  a  stop 
to  a  campaign  of  hatred  which  if  left  uninterfered  with,  might 
result  in  complete  disruption  and  international  disgrace. 

"My  principal  reason  for  writing  to  you  as  above  is  to  ex- 
press to  you  my  conviction  that  the  growth  of  a  better  feeling 
between  the  Jews  and  non-Jews  of  Poland,  which  I  have  no  doubt 
the  Government  is  anxious  to  attain,  can  be  effectively  furthered 
if  the  public  press  could  be  persuaded  to  see  that  national  and 
civic  righteousness  is  a  matter  for  inter-denominational  endeavor 
and  that  true  patriotism  is  best  exemplified  by  efforts  toward 
mutual  understanding  rather  than  by  studied  efforts  to  arouse 
racial  and  religious  antipathy. 

"In  such  an  effort  I  can  assure  you,  Sir,  that  our  co-religionists 
in  Poland  will  by  their  loyalty  to  the  Government  lend  complete 
cooperation.  „Very  respectfully  yours, 

Adolf  Kraus." 

On  June  28th,  the  following  reply  to  the  foregoing 
letter  was  received : 
"Dear  Mr.  Kraus: 

"I  wish  to  acknowledge  your  letter  of  June  22nd,  in  which 
you  request  that  I  inform  my  Government  of  the  anxiety  which 
the  members  of  your  organization  feel  over  various  allegations  of 
oppression  of  Jews  in  Poland. 

"I  shall  acquaint  the  Polish  Government  with  the  nature  of 
your  protest  and  the  charges  made  therein  of  discrimination 
against  Jews. 

"With  your  expression  of  sincere  hope  that  the  growth  of  a 
better  feeling  between  Jews  and  non-Jews  in  Poland  may  be 
furthered,  it,  of  course,  goes  without  saying  that  I  am  in  accord. 
However,  I  cannot  for  one  moment  admit  that  the  allegations  of 
Jewish  persecution  in  Posen  which  you  have  accepted  as  well 
founded  can  be  based  upon  fact.  If  you  will  permit  me,  I  would 
like  to  quote  a  paragraph  or  two  of  the  Constitution  of  Poland: 

"Article  95  says:  The  Republic  of  Poland  guarantees  on 
its  territory  to  all,  without  distinction  of  extraction,  nationality, 
language,  race  or  religion,  full  protection  of  life,  liberty  and  pro- 
perty. 


220  REMINISCENCES 

" Article  96  says:  All  citizens  are  equal  before  the  law. 

"Article  99  says:  The  Republic  of  Poland  recognizes  all 
property,  whether  belonging  personally  to  individual  citizens  or 
collectively  to  associations  of  citizens,  institutions,  self-govern- 
ment organizations,  and  the  State  itself,  as  one  of  the  most 
important  bases  of  social  organization  and  legal  order,  and  guar- 
antees to  all  citizens,  institutions  and  associations,  protection  of 
their  property,  permitting  only  in  cases  provided  by  a  statue 
the  abolition  or  limitation  of  property,  whether  personal  or 
collective,  for  reasons  of  higher  utility,  against  compensation. 

"To  assume  that  the  acts  of  oppression  which  you  recount 
can  be  true  is  to  ignore  completely  the  fact  that  courts  of  law 
are  functioning  normally  throughout  Poland  into  which  any 
citizen  may  enter  on  equal  terms  and  obtain  redress  of  any  in- 
jury committed  against  him  by  public  official  or  private  citizen. 

"It  might  seem  superfluous  at  this  time  for  me  to  venture 
the  suggestion  that  you  examine  most  carefully  into  the  sources 
of  your  information  on  reported  instances  of  Jewish  oppression 
in  Poland.  Nevertheless,  I  feel  justified  in  offering  it  in  view  of 
the  conviction  with  which  you  give  what  seems  to  me  an  incon- 
ceivable interpretation  to  incidents  affecting  the  Jews  in  Posen. 

"I  entirely  agree  with  your  statement  that  true  patriotism 
is  best  exemplified  by  efforts  toward  mutual  understanding  rather 
than  by  efforts  to  arouse  racial  antipathy. 

"I  beg  to  remain, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Wladyslaw  Wroblewski, 
Minister  of  Poland." 

To  this  letter  I  replied  as  follows: 

"Am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  June  28th  in  reply  to  mine  of 
June  22nd.  Am  pleased  that  you  will  acquaint  your  Govern- 
ment with  the  contents  of  our  communication. 

"At  the  same  time  I  fear  that  I  may  not  have  made  myself 
entirely  clear.  It  was  not  my  intention  in  writing  you,  to  stress 
the  various  alleged  acts  of  oppression  mentioned  therein,  but 
rather  to  suggest  that  mutual  understanding  could  be  effectually 
furthered  if  that  section  of  the  press  of  Poland  which  interprets 
its  intense  nationalism  in  terms  of  anti-Semitism  could  be  made 
by  some  means  to  realize  that  such  tactics  were  likely  to  defeat 
the  efforts  of  the  Government  toward  securing  a  better  mutual 
understanding.  Had  I  not  been  convinced  that  the  Polish 
Government  intends  to  be  just  to  my  co-religionists  and  that  it 
fully  realizes  that  an  informed  and  conciliatory  public  opinion 
is  a  necessary  concommitant  to  a  just  interpretation  of  existing 


THE  JEW  221 

laws  and  guarantees,  I  would  not  have  presumed  to  present  to 
you  my  own  conclusions  of  the  inconsistency  of  the  attitude  of 
those  Polish  journals  which,  while  professing  the  truest  and  deep- 
est patriotism,  are  at  the  same  time  in  a  most  short-sighted  man- 
ner stirring  up  internal  hatred  and  dissension." 

In  September  following,  I  received  a  report  from 
Poland  to  the  effect  that  the  press  had  stopped  its 
attacks  and  that  our  co-religionists  were  hopeful  of  the 
future. 

In  May,  1921,  a  report  reached  us  that  owing  to  in- 
creased immigration  to  Mexico  the  Government  of 
that  country  intended  to  deport  such  immigrants  as 
might,  in  the  judgment  of  officials  in  charge,  become  a 
burden  to  the  country.  I  wrote  to  the  Mexican  Charge 
d'Affaires  at  Washington,  assuring  him  that  our  or- 
ganization would  aid  the  Jewish  immigrants  to  become 
self-sustaining  and  prayed  that  they  might  be  given 
an  opportunity  to  prove  by  their  industry  and  law- 
abiding  conduct  that,  instead  of  becoming  a  burden, 
they  would  be  desirable  citizens  and  a  valuable  asset 
to  the  country.  He  answered  on  May  24th,  that  a 
translation  of  my  letter  had  been  transmitted  to  the 
appropriate  authority  of  his  Government  for  its  con- 
sideration, and  stated  that  no  foreigner  is  deported 
from  Mexico  without  substantial  reasons  warranting 
such  action  and  that  no  religious  or  racial  prejudice 
prevailed  in  Mexico.  Three  years  have  gone  by  since 
and  we  have  not  heard  of  any  deportations  from  that 
country. 

Early  in  December,  1922,  I  learned  that  a  new  in- 
dustry was  started  in  Mexico  by  certain  unscrupulous 
persons  who  made  it  their  business  to  form  the  acquaint- 
ances of  immigrants  to  Mexico  and  represent  to  them 
that  for  a  certain  sum  of  money  (usually  all  the  immi- 


222  REMINISCENCES 

grant  had,  which  fact  was  ascertained  in  advance), 
they  would  have  them  admitted  to  citizenship  in 
Mexico,  and  then  upon  the  basis  of  their  Mexican 
citizenship  would  obtain  passports  enabling  them  to 
enter  the  United  States.  Such  immigrants  as  were 
willing  to  part  with  their  money  for  the  promised 
privilege  found,  when  they  attempted  to  cross  the 
border,  that  the  passports  had  been  forged,  and  they 
were  of  course  not  permitted  to  enter  the  United 
States.  My  attention  was  called  to  the  case  of  two 
families  composed  of  eight  people  who  paid  1100  pesos, 
all  the  money  they  had,  for  such  forged  passports.  A 
few  days  later  several  persons  who  paid  700  pesos  each 
for  similar  passports  shared  the  same  fate.  Our 
co-religionists  in  Monterey  furnished  them  with  suffi- 
cient money  to  send  them  back  to  Mexico  City. 

On  December  11,  1922,  I  wrote  to  the  Charge 
d'Affairers  ad  interim  of  Mexico  at  Washington,  as 
follows : 

"  I  ask  permission  to  call  your  attention  to  a  complaint  which 
has  reached  me  that  there  are  certain  parties  in  Mexico  who  sell 
forged  Mexican  passports  to  immigrants  who  desire  to  enter  the 
United  States,  which  passports  set  forth  that  the  bearers  are 
Mexican  citizens.  When  they  attempt  to  cross  the  border  they 
are  sent  back  by  United  States  authorities. 

"I  am  sure  that  if  the  attention  of  the  Mexican  Government 
is  called  to  this,  that  Government  will  try  to  catch  the  perpe- 
trators of  such  frauds  and  punish  them. 

"I,  therefore,  am  taking  the  liberty  to  address  this  letter  to 
you.     I  have  the  honor  to  be 

Very  respectfully  yours," 

On  December  15,  1922,  he  answered  as  follows: 

"I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  December  11th,  1922,  by 
which  you  are  good  enough  to  call  my  attention  to  the  fraudulent 
issuance  by  certain  unauthorized  parties  of  forged  Mexican  pass- 
ports to  emigrants  who  desire  to  enter  into  the  United  States. 


THE  JEW  223 

"I  am  immediately  referring  the  matter  to  the  appropriate 
authorities  of  my  Government  so  that  adequate  action  may  be 
taken,  and  I  should  very  much  appreciate  your  furnishing  me  with 
concrete  information  as  to  the  case  which  has  been  brought  to 
your  attention. 

"It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  any  information  that  may  be 
kindly  furnished  to  me  will  be  treated  as  entirely  confidential. 
"Thanking  you  in  advance,  I  remain 

"Yours  faithfully, 

Manuel  C.  Tellez 
Charge  d' Affaires  ad  interim." 

On  January  19,  1923,  he  again  wrote  as  follows: 

"With  further  reference  to  your  letter  of  December  11,  1922, 
I  take  pleasure  in  informing  you  that  I  have  received  a  communi- 
cation from  my  Foreign  Office  by  which  I  am  advised  that  the 
proper  authorities  of  Mexico  have  undertaken  the  prosecution 
of  the  parties  responsible  for  selling  forged  Mexican  passports." 

Early  in  1923  the  Soviet  Government  of  Russia 
began  the  persecution  of  Roman  Catholic  priests.  On 
April  15th,  the  Chicago  Tribune  published  from  its 
foreign  correspondent  a  lengthy  dispatch  which  was  in 
part  as  follows: 

"The  Pope  is  considering  making  an  appeal  to  all  civilized 
nations  to  compel  the  Soviet  Government  to  desist  in  its  war 
against  the  Christians.  A  prominent  Vatican  personage  ques- 
tioned concerning  the  Pope's  attitude,  made  the  following 
declaration  to  the  'Tribune:' 

"It  is  reported  that  some  Soviet  leaders  intend  to  indict  the 
Pope  and  condemn  him.  It  is  the  belief  of  some  Soviet  leaders 
that  sooner  or  later  Italy  will  turn  Bolshevist  and  that  the 
Bolsheviki  will  be  able  to  execute  the  death  sentence  against 
the  Christians,  especially  Catholics. 

"The  Pope  feels  that  the  inspiration  to  this  war  is  carried  on 
by  Israelites  and  he  requests  that  the  Israelites  of  the  more  en- 
lightened countries,  such  as  Italy  and  America,  who  live  happily 
side  by  side  with  Christians,  use  their  influence  to  show  their 
co-religionists  the  madness  of  their  acts. 

"The  Pope,  it  is  learned,  is  uneasy  over  the  recent  events  in 
Russia  and  thinks  cooperative  action  by  representatives  of  all 
religions  is  'necessary  and  useful'  in  order  to  defend  religious 
freedom." 


224  REMINISCENCES 

On  April  16th,  I  sent  to  the  Pope  the  following  cable: 

"His  Holiness  Pope  Pius  XI, 
Vatican,  Rome. 

"Permit  me  to  quote  verbatim  from  a  news  item  in  the 
Chicago  Tribune  sent  by  its  Rome  correspondent  who  in  comment- 
ing upon  the  Russian  Bolshevist  war  against  religious  bodies  es- 
pecially Catholics  says: 

111  The  Pope  feels  that  the  inspiration  for  this  war  is  furnished 
by  Israelites  and  he  requests  that  the  Israelites  of  the  more  en- 
lightened nations  such  as  Italy  and  America  who  live  happily 
side  by  side  with  Catholics,  use  their  influence  to  show  their 
co-religionists  the  madness  of  their  acts  in  persecuting  the  ser- 
vants of  Christianity. ' 

"It  is  unbelievable  that  your  Holiness  made  the  alleged 
statements.  If,  however,  those  statements  remain  uncontra- 
dicted, it  will  be  construed  by  some  as  a  declaration  against  Jews 
by  your  Holiness,  which  I  am  confident  is  contrary  to  your 
earnest  desire  to  promote  peace  and  good  will  for  all  mankind. 

Adolf  Kraus." 

On  May  9th  following,  the  Jewish  Telegraphic 
Agency  published  the  following: 

"Rome,  May  9 — (Jewish  Telegraphic  Agency).  After  ex- 
haustive inquiries  the  Jewish  Telegraphic  Agency  is  in  position 
to  state  authoritatively  that  Vatican  circles  deny  categorically 
the  recent  American  report  that  the  Pope  considers  Russian  Jews 
directly  or  indirectly  responsbile  for  the  persecution  of  Catholic 
prelates  in  Russia." 

In  February,  1924,  I  received  a  letter  from  Bulgaria, 
from  which  I  quote  the  following: 

"For  a  few  weeks,  the  Macedonian  Revolutionary  Organi- 
zation has  been  demanding  from  the  Sofia  Jewish  population  a 
compulsory  contribution  of  thirty  millions  of  levas,  threatening 
to  put  many  of  our  notables  to  death  in  case  this  amount  is  not 
obtained  shortly. 

"The  Macedonian  cause  for  itself  deserves  our  full  sympathy, 
but  the  way  actually  used  for  getting  the  money  cannot  be  ap- 
proved of  as  regards  humanism  and  morality." 

*     *     *     * 

"It  is  a  serious  matter  and  energetic  intervention  by  wire  is 
needed.     Can  you  help  us?" 


THE  JEW  225 

Thereupon  the  following  correspondence  followed : 

"Chicago,  Illinois, 

February  21,  1924. 
"Your  Excellency: 

"In  a  report  received  from  Sofia  dated  January  24th,  I  am 
advised  that  the  Macedonian  Revolutionary  Organization  is 
demanding  compulsory  contributions  of  thirty  million  levas  from 
Bulgarian  citizens  of  the  Jewish  faith  living  in  Sofia,  and  is 
threatening,  unless  that  amount  is  paid  promptly,  to  assassinate 
those  who  are  most  prominent  in  the  community.  We  have  no 
other  information  authenticating  the  above  report,  but  assume 
that  you  are  in  a  position  to  ascertain  the  facts  and  advise  us 
whether  the  information  is  reliable.  If  there  is  any  basis  in  fact 
for  this  report,  I  know  that  the  Bulgarian  Government,  which 
has  always  stood  pre-eminent  among  the  liberal  governments 
of  the  world,  will  do  everything  that  can  be  done  to  prevent  the 
commission  of  such  a  crime. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Very  respectfully  yours, 
Adolf  Kraus." 
"Honorable  Stephan  Panaretoff,  Envoy  Extraordinary  of  Bulgaria 
Washington,  D.  C." 


"Royal  Bulgarian  Legation, 
Washington,  D.  C,  February  25,  1924. 
"To  the  Hon.  President,   Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith, 
1228  Tribune  Building,  Chicago,  111. 

"Dear  Mr.  President: 

"I  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  kind  letter  of  the  21st  instant 
in  regard  to  a  report  that  has  reached  you  from  Sofia  that  the 
Macedonian  Revolutionary  Organization  is  demanding  compul- 
sory contributions  of  thirty  million  levas  from  the  Bulgarian 
citizens  of  the  Jewish  faith  living  in  Sofia.  A  few  days  ago  I 
received  a  similar  communication  from  Mr.  Landau  of  the 
Jewish  Telegraphic  Agency  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  I  have 
cabled  to  my  government  for  information.  As  soon  as  I  get  a 
reply,  I  will  not  fail  to  communicate  it  to  you. 

"I  need  not  tell  you  how  surprised  and  grieved  I  feel  to  hear 
that  your  co-religionists  in  Bulgaria  have  been  exposed  to  any 
molestation,  if  the  alleged  reports  prove  to  be  true.  I  am  sure 
that  the  Bulgarian  Government,  which  has  always  protected 
and  treated  on  equal  footing  with  the  Bulgarians  our  Jewish 


226  REMINISCENCES 

fellow-countrymen,  strongly  disapproves  of  the  reported  action 
of  the  Macedonian  Revolutionary  Organization  and  will  do  what 
may  lie  in  its  power  to  give  them  the  necessary  protection. 

Yours  very  truly, 

S.  Panaretoff" 

"Your  Excellency:  "Chicago,  Illinois,  February  29,  1924. 

"I  very  much  appreciate  your  kind  letter  of  February  25th, 
in  reply  to  mine  of  the  21st  instant.  I  was  and  am  confident  that 
the  Government  of  your  country  will  do  its  best  to  protect  all  of 
its  subjects  irrespective  of  creed. 

"I  thank  you  also  for  your  kind  promise  to  let  me  hear  from 
you  after  you  have  heard  from  your  Government. 

" l  have  the  honor  to  be        Very  respectfully  yours, 

Adolf  Kraus." 
"Honorable  Stephan  Panaretoff,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"Royal  Bulgarian  Legation,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"Dr.  Adolf  Kraus,  April  9,  1924. 

Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith, 

Chicago,  111. 

"Dear  Sir: 

"Illness  has  prevented  my  writing  to  you  sooner;  but  you 
must  have  already  seen  from  press  dispatches  the  measures  the 
Bulgarian  Government  has  taken  in  regard  to  the  Macedonian 
Revolutionary  Committee  and  curbing  its  activities.  Dr. 
Jacob  Landau  of  the  Jewish  Telegraphic  Agency  has  informed  me 
that  he  has  received  telegraphic  advices  that  the  Jewish  citizens 
have  been  partly  re-imbursed  for  the  money  which  was  extorted 
from  them.  You  may  be  assured  that  the  Bulgarian  Government 
will  make  no  discrimination  in  the  protection  it  can  afford  to  its 
subjects,  no  matter  to  what  race  or  religion  they  may  belong. 

"Yours  faithfully, 

S.  Panaretoff." 

August  1st,  1924  I  received  from  Constantinople  the 
following  letter: 

"Honorable  Adolf  Kraus,  Grand  President, 
Independent  Order  B'nai  B'rith. 
"Dear  Beloved  Grand  President: 

"It  is  our  agreeable  duty  to  inform  you  that  at  the  session  of 
the  second  General  Assembly  of  the  lodges  of  the  District  of  the 


THE  JEW  227 

Orient,  it  being  informed  of  your  effective  intervention  with 
the  Bulgarian  authorities  in  the  United  States  in  favor  of  our 
co-religionists  in  Bulgaria,  it  adopted,  amid  the  greatest  enthu- 
siasm, warmest  congratulations. 

"The  General  Assembly  directed  us  to  express  to  you  its  ad- 
miration and  gratitude  of  your  noble  efforts  toward  triumph  in 
the  holy  cause  of  human  suffering. 

"Please  accept,  dear  Brother  President,  our  homage  and  fra- 
ternal devotion. 

J.  Niego,  President." 

The  Anti-Defamation  League 

The  Order  established  and  maintains  the  Anti-De- 
famation League.  As  to  the  work  of  that  League,  I 
reported  to  the  convention  which  met  in  1920  as  follows : 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ordains  the  freedom 
of  speech  and  of  the  press. 

Yet  during  the  war  both  were  restricted  by  Congress,  which 
the  Constitution  created  and  whose  servant  it  is.  My  purpose 
is  not  to  call  into  question  the  necessity  of  the  Espionage  Act, 
nor  to  attack  the  men  who  passed  it.  I  use  the  illustration 
merely  to  make  plain  that  the  guarantees  of  political  organiza- 
tions are  never  inviolable;  that  they  may  be  curtailed  at  the 
pleasure  of  a  predominant  faction. 

We  are  all  concerned  for  our  permanent  welfare  in  the  country 
in  which  we  live;  and  since  that  is  a  fact,  we  dare  not  close  our 
eyes  to  the  potentialities  of  the  future.  There  is  no  gainsaying 
the  prejudice  which  is  present  around  us.  Some  of  it  is  active, 
some  latent.  But  in  either  form  it  is  a  danger  we  are  bound  to 
heed  and  combat. 

Seven  years  ago  the  Anti-Defamation  League  was  founded  to 
destroy  those  factors  which  tend  to  keep  animosity  toward  us 
alive,  to  bring  about  the  abatement  of  defamation  of  the  Jew, 
and  ultimately  to  put  an  end  to  unfair  discrimination  against  all 
citizens  on  account  of  their  race  or  religion.  I  believe  that 
nothing  of  greater  importance  could  have  been  done  to  protect 
our  status  in  America — a  conclusion  in  which  the  results  sustain 
me. 

The  League's  inception  found  the  name  of  the  Jew  the  subject 
of  calumnies  of  every  character.  From  the  stage  ridicule  was 
heaped  upon  it  unrebuked.  In  motion  pictures  it  was  vilified  as 
synonymic  of  pawnbrokers,  thieves  and  procurers.  Newspapers 
were  prone  to  call  attention  to  the  fact,  if  one  of  our  faith  com- 


228  REMINISCENCES 

mitted  a  crime,  that  the  offender  was  a  Jew;  while  various 
summer  resorts  announced  in  widely  scattered  advertisements 
that  they  would  not  receive  us  as  guests.  Among  humorous 
magazines,  too,  it  was  recognized  as  traditional  that  a  malicious 
quip  at  the  Jews'  expense  would  appeal  to  their  readers'  risibilities 
when  all  other  expedients  failed;  and  some  authors  of  fiction,  like 
some  writers  of  scenarios,  found  us  convenient  persons  to  cast 
in  contemptible  roles. 

How  the  situation  has  changed  even  a  superficial  survey  will 
disclose.  Hundreds  of  complaints  have  been  received  and  acted 
upon,  for  a  detailed  statement  of  which  I  refer  you  to  the  report 
of  the  Administration  Committee  of  the  League;  I  need  concern 
myself  with  only  a  few  typical  instances. 

Of  the  metamorphosis  which  was  brought  about  in  the  motion 
picture  industry  a  notable  example  is  afforded  by  the  conduct  of 
the  director,  D.  W.  Griffith.  The  corporation  of  which  he  is  the 
head  was  producing  in  1915  a  film  to  depict  the  relations  of 
mothers  toward  the  law  throughout  the  ages.  One  scene  re- 
vealed a  number  of  Jews  stoning  and  beating  Jesus  while  carrying 
the  cross.  It  had  been  an  expensive  bit  of  photography,  but 
after  a  conference  between  Mr.  Griffith's  representative  and  the 
Administrative  Committee  of  the  League  the  episode  and  all 
incidents  leading  up  to  it  were  deleted. 

Some  hotels  and  summer  resorts  advertised  "Hebrew  patron- 
age not  solicited."  One  desiring  to  outdo  others  advertised, 
"Jews  and  dogs  not  allowed  on  our  premises,"  while  another 
advertised  that  the  climate  was  "not  suitable  for  Jews  and  con- 
sumptives."  Proprietors  of  some  of  these  hotels,  questioned  as 
to  the  reason  for  taking  such  a  position,  frankly  stated  that  they 
had  no  objection  to  Jews  but  that  it  paid  them  to  so  advertise. 
There  are  in  this  country  many  persons  who  have  grown  rich. 
Riches  often  cause  the  owner  to  believe  that  he  is  superior  to  the 
less  fortunate,  and  therefore  he  desires  to  belong  to  an  exclusive 
set.  Such  set  is  too  frequently  composed  of  a  vain,  brainless 
and  often  vulgar  group  of  men  and  women,  and  mostly  anti- 
Semitic.  No  self-respecting  Jew  could  be  induced  to  patronize  a 
hotel  catering  to  such  patronage,  and  there  are  not  enough  of 
them  to  cause  us  any  inconvenience.  The  insulting  innuendo 
contained  in  these  advertisements,  however,  has  the  tendency 
to  cause  prejudice  against  us  among  citizens  who  otherwise  would 
not  have  it.  Therefore,  the  Anti-Defamation  League  prepared 
a  law  prohibiting  such  advertisements  on  the  ground  that  they 
tended  to  create  class  hatred  and  dissension.  We  submitted  the 
proposed  law  to  the  Legislatures  of  eight  States  in  which  such 
hotels  were  located.  The  law  was  adopted,  and  it  is  now  a 
criminal  offense  in  those  States  to  so  advertise. 


THE  JEW  229 

The  Associated  Press,  the  largest  news  gathering  and  dis- 
tributing agency  in  the  world,  lent  assistance  to  the  League  in 
an  important  particular.  It  discontinued  mentioning  in  its  dis- 
patches the  religious  or  racial  stamp  of  criminals — a  practice 
which  since  has  become  general  among  the  larger  newspapers  of 
the  country.  "Notes  on  the  word  Jew,"  a  card  issued  by  the 
League  to  promote  correct  usage,  also  hangs  in  most  newspaper 
offices,  or  did  until  its  contents  became  familiar. 

It  was  doubtless  to  be  expected  that  the  war  would  be  seized 
as  a  pretext  by  the  anti-Semites  here  as  in  other  countries. 
Newspapers,  magazines  and  song  writers  took  turns  in  designat- 
ing the  Jew  as  a  slacker,  coward  and  traitor — some  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  conscienceless  jests,  others  in  all  seriousness. 
Perhaps  the  most  objectionable  statement,  because  it  seemed  to 
be  sponsored  by  the  Government,  was  put  forth  in  connection 
with  the  drafting  of  the  national  army.  In  "The  Medical  Ad- 
visory Board  Manual,"  as  a  part  of  a  chapter  headed  "Causes 
of  Malingering,"  the  following  sentence  was  inserted: 

"Foreign  born,  and  especially  Jews,  are  more  apt  to  malinger  than  the 
native  born." 

The  Administrative  Committee  wired  for  an  appointment 
with  the  President.  The  League's  representative  there  answered 
by  wire  that  the  President  had  on  that  very  day  declared  in 
writing  that  the  sentence  complained  of  should  not  have  been 
expressed  nor  entertained  and  that  it  should  be  stricken  out,  as 
it  was  absolutely  contrary  to  the  views  of  the  administration. 

To  the  offices  of  newspapers  and  magazines  the  war  brought 
a  flood  of  mostly  fictitious  narratives,  syndicated  as  "Germany's 
Greatest  Woman  Spy,"  "The  Kaiser's  Master  Spy,"  and  so  on, 
purporting  to  give  secret  information  of  the  Russian  situation, 
but  being  in  reality  attacks  upon  the  Jews.  The  Anti-Defama- 
tion League  succeeded  in  having  publication  of  many  of  these 
stories  stopped. 

E.  T.  Brontson,  in  "The  Mysterious  Case  of  K.  of  K.,"  pub- 
lished in  the  March,  1919,  issue  of  Popular  Mechanics,  uttered 
a  most  vicious  slander.  The  author  attempted  to  lay  the  blame 
for  Lord  Kitchener's  death  upon  the  Jews  by  stating  that  they 
obtained  state  secrets  from  British  Cabinet  members  and  used 
them  to  further  the  interests  of  Germany.  A  committee  of  the 
League  called  on  the  editor,  who  admitted  that  there  was  no 
proof  to  substantiate  the  charges,  and  after  apologizing  for  his 
thoughtlessness  in  permitting  them  to  be  published,  assured  the 
committee  that  thereafter  Popular  Mechanics  would  be  free 
from  such  attacks.  He  offered  to  apologize  publicly,  but  the 
committee  believed  additional  publicity  would  be  unwise. 


230  REMINISCENCES 

One  notoriously  anti-Semitic  magazine,  which  at  the  beginn- 
ing of  hostilities  printed  a  series  of  cartoons  depicting  Jews  as 
slackers,  desisted  after  learning  the  views  of  its  numerous  ad- 
vertisers, who  expressed  themselves  by  letter  at  our  request. 
The  stage,  too,  responded  to  our  propaganda.  More  than  one 
hundred  complaints  against  vaudeville  performers  have  been 
acted  upon  since  the  League  was  founded ;  yet  these  amusement 
enterprises  remain  one  of  the  most  difficult  fields  of  operation, 
largely  because  many  Jewish  patrons  apparently  enjoy,  and 
certainly  encourage  by  applause,  the  vulgarities  uttered  at  their 
expense.  Nevertheless,  a  marked  change  in  the  attitude  of 
managers  was  made  apparent — a  change  indicated  by  the  follow- 
ing admonition  posted  by  Nixon  Nirdlanger  in  his  playhouses: 

"A  SUGGESTION  AND  A  NOTICE 
"Tens  of  thousands  of  Jewish  boys  in  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United 
States  are  offering  their  lives  in  the  defense  of  the  nation.  Slurs  and  gibes 
upon  the  courage  and  sacrifices  of  the  race  to  which  these  fighting  men  belong 
are  obviously  impudent  and  indecent  and  will  not  be  tolerated  upon  the  stage 
of  this  theatre;  least  of  all  from  Jewish  performers  who  have  been  the  custom- 
ary offenders  in  this  matter.  If  you  feel  that  you  cannot  get  your  act  over  the 
footlights  without  insulting  brave  boys  who  are  going  over  the  top,  please 
consider  your  act  cancelled." 

The  work  of  the  League  as  a  whole  was  remarkably  satisfac- 
tory. But  it  is  far  from  finished.  By  seven  years  of  constant 
activity  it  has  reduced  greatly  public  affronts  to  the  Jews.  It 
has  not,  however,  effected  their  complete  eradication.  Nor  has 
it  educated  non-Jews  sufficiently  to  preclude  their  recurrence, 
even  if  present  offenses  were  to  end. 

I  have  reserved  until  this  juncture  mention  of  four  trans- 
actions of  the  League  which,  though  trivial  in  themselves,  have 
in  my  mind  the  highest  import. 

"Our  World  Reader, "  published  by  Ginn  &  Co.  for  use  in  the 
schools  declared  that  the  Jews  crucified  Christ.  So  the  League 
submitted  to  the  publishers  a  substitute  paragraph  setting  forth 
the  historical  reality  that  the  crucifixion  took  place  pursuant  to 
an  order  of  Pontius  Pilate,  the  Roman  Procurator;  and  the  sub- 
stitution was  duly  made.  At  the  behest  of  the  League,  Hought- 
ton-Mifflin  Company  also  agreed,  by  a  footnote  in  all  future 
editions  of  Hiawatha,  to  call  attention  to  the  error  in  Longfellow's 
lines  which  attributed  the  crucifixion  to  the  Jews. 

"The  Children's  Book  of  Knowledge  "  issued  by  the  Grolier 
Society,  and  "Nelson's  Loose  Leaf  Encyclopedia"  presented  the 
same  problem  in  another  aspect.  The  former  was  induced  to 
substitute  an  illustration  from  "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew  "for  a 
picture  of  Shylock;  the  latter  to  withdraw  from  a  plate  entitled 
"Physiognomy"  a  drawing  of  a  nose  described  as  "Jewish- 
Avaricious." 


THE  JEW  231 

I  hope  that  the  publishers  of  readers  for  children  will,  in 
lieu  of  defamatory  articles  against  Jews,  print  a  part  of  Macau- 
lay's  speech  of  April  17,  1833,  wherein  he  pleaded  with  the  House 
of  Commons  to  remove  all  civil  disabilities  from  the  Jews. 
He  said: 

"There  is  nothing  in  their  national  character  which  unfits  them  for  the 
highest  duties  of  citizens.  In  the  infancy  of  civilization  when  our  island  was 
as  savage  as  New  Guinea,  when  letters  and  arts  were  still  unknown  to  Athens, 
when  scarcely  a  thatched  hut  stood  on  what  was  afterwards  the  site  of  Rome, 
this  condemned  people  had  their  fenced  cities  and  cedar  palaces,  their  splendid 
temple,  their  great  statesmen  and  their  soldiers,  their  natural  philosophers 
their  historians  and  their  poets. 

"What  nation  ever  contended  more  manfully  against  overwhelming  odds 
for  its  independence  and  religion?  What  nation  ever  in  its  agonies  gave  such 
signal  proofs  of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  a  brave  despair?     *     *     * 

"Let  us  do  justice  to  them.  Let  us  open  to  them  the  door  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  Let  us  open  to  them  every  career  in  which  ability  and  energy 
can  be  displayed.  Till  we  have  done  this,  let  us  not  presume  to  say  that 
there  is  no  genius  among  the  countrymen  of  Isaiah,  no  heroism  among  the 
descendants  of  the  Maccabees." 

Have  the  Jews  been  false  to  that  advocate?  Certainly  not 
in  England,  where  the  Lord  Chief  Justiceship  has  been  given 
into  the  custody  of  a  Jew.  And  not,  I  venture  to  say,  in  any 
other  country,  although  in  some  their  fellow-nationals  have  done 
little  to  merit  their  loyalty.  Yet,  although  the  Jews  were  loyal 
in  every  country  to  the  flag  under  which  they  lived,  they  were 
not  only  accused  of  bringing  on  the  war  and  of  traitorous  conduct 
while  it  was  in  progress,  but  with  the  signing  of  the  armistice 
came  the  accusation  that  they  were  responsible  for  the  ensuing 
unrest. 

In  September,  1919,  thousands  of  rioters  pressed  along  the 
streets  of  Vienna.  Hunger  was  their  plaint  and  their  leaders 
raised  the  cry,  "Profiteers,  profiteers,  the  Jews  brought  on  the 
war!  Away  with  the  Jews!"  They  moved  against  their  fellow 
countrymen,  our  co-religionists — Jews,  who  had  fought  with 
them  for  their  common  moral  and  political  convictions,  who  had 
given  of  their  blood  and  money  unstintingly,  thousands  of  whom 
were  starving  even  then  in  the  dearth  of  food  that  spared  no  one; 
yet  the  public  wrath  would  have  formed  against  them  with 
terrible  results  if  the  government  troops  had  not  protected  them. 

Our  Secretary,  while  walking  in  Unter  den  Linden  during  the 
few  days  he  was  in  Berlin,  was  handed  a  number  of  circulars 
which  are  now  in  our  possession.  I  shall  quote  from  some  of  them. 
Circular  No.  10  was  issued  at  Easter  time.  It  contains  the  fol- 
lowing statement: 

"More  than  two  hundred  children  are  missing  in  Berlin.  Sausages  have 
been  made  out  of  these  unfortunate  children  and  sold  to  us. 

"What  has  become  of  our  children?  They  have  become  victims  of  ritual 
murderers.  They  have  been  terribly  tortured  in  order  to  obtain  their  blood." 


232  REMINISCENCES 

"Bela  Lichtenberg  was  arrested  because  he  sold  thirteen  pounds  of  flesh 
of  a  murdered  girl  for  mutton." 

"Men  and  women  of  Germany,  how  long  will  you  stand  this?  Join  us! 
Destroy  and  kill  all  who  so  violate  God's  command.   Away  with  the  criminals!" 

Circular  No.  14  contains  the  following: 

"The  Talmud  and  the  Rabbis  teach  the  best  non-Jew  should  be  killed. 
He  who  takes  the  blood  of  a  non-Jew  pleases  God.  If  a  non-Jew  falls  into 
a  pit  leave  him  there!     Non-Jews  are  inferior  to  dogs  and  asses!" 

Circular  No.  1000  inquires: 

"Will  you  stand  idly  by  while  your  sisters  are  being  outraged  day  by  day 
by  Jews,  so  that  eventually  there  will  be  nobody  for  you  to  marry  except 
street- walkers?  Curses  upon  you  if  you  stand  idly  by  and  see  this  done! 
Woe  to  you,  cowards.  We  need  money  to  carry  on  the  fight.  Join  our  society. 
Annual  dues  only  6  marks." 

In  another  circular  it  was  stated  in  big  headlines, 

"The  Germans  would  have  won  the  war  if  the  B'nai  B'rith  of  Germany 
had  not  conspired  with  the  B'nai  B'rith  of  America  to  betray  our  Government." 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  in  the  city  of  Berlin,  which  prided 
itself  upon  being  the  city  of  "Kultur, "  persons  could  be  found 
who  would  believe  such  lies,  but  those  who  prepared  them  ex- 
pected that  a  mob  would  gather  which  would  be  incited  to  vio- 
lence, for  as  a  rule  a  mob  does  not  reason. 

It  is  time  that  we  realized  not  only  what  has  happened 
abroad  but  also  what  those  happenings  may  portend.  If  in  a  city 
of  two  million  souls  pamphleteers  and  murder  mongers  in  other 
guises  can  go  about  by  daylight  crying  their  wares  unmolested 
and  unrebuked,  in  which  European  city  are  our  people  safe? 
I  do  not  intend  to  stress  this  point  as  against  the  German  people. 
I  employ  it  solely  to  disclose  that  the  mainspring  which  actuates 
our  enemies  has  the  power  to  function  as  dynamically  as  when 
its  energy  first  was  loosed  many  centuries  ago.  What  is  their 
grudge — these  enemies  of  ours?     Can  you  name  it? 

A  sin  that  Jews  are  guilty  of  that  has  not  its  counterpart  in 
every  other  people?  The  thing  that  sets  us  apart  in  hours  of 
stress  as  the  inevitable  scapegoat  of  our  own  neighbors'  distem- 
pers? What  is  it?  It  is  not  money,  for  great  wealth  does  not 
distinguish  the  Jews;  the  majority  of  them  are  very  poor.  Nor 
is  it  political  preferment  or  power,  because  as  a  whole  we  have 
little  of  either.  Nor  is  it  vice,  since  the  criminal  records  of  all 
countries  show  the  Jew  as  a  class  to  be  law-abiding. 

What  is  it,  then,  if  not  the  legend  which,  repeated  generation 
after  generation  at  the  cradles  of  Christendom,  first  imprints  in 
child  minds  a  picture  of  the  Jews  crucifying  and  putting  Him  to 
death  in  a  most  horrible  manner  whom  they  are  taught  to  adore 
as  their  Saviour?      What  else  but  the  impression  which  Long- 


THE  JEW  233 

fellow  received  as  a  child  could  have  possibly  induced  him  in 
"The  Song  of  Hiawatha"  to  write: 

"Then  the  Black  Robe,  chief  of  the  prophet, 
Told  his  message  to  the  people, 
Told  the  purpose  of  his  mission, 
Told  them  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
And  her  blessed  Son,  the  Saviour, 
How  in  distant  land  and  ages, 
He  had  lived  on  earth  as  we  do, 
How  the  Jews,  the  tribe  accursed, 
Mocked  Him,  scourged  Him,  crucified  Him." 

The  New  Testament  does  not  teach  that  the  "Jews  mocked 
him,  scourged  him,  or  crucified  him,"  for  we  read  in  the  book  of 
Matthew,  Chapter  27,  that  Pontius  Pilate  scourged  Jesus,  that 
he,  the  Roman  governor,  turned  Jesus  over  to  his  soldiers  to 
crucify  Him,  and  that  they  stripped  Him,  that  they  put  the 
crown  of  thorns  upon  His  head,  that  they  mocked  Him,  etc. 

At  the  time  of  the  Crucifixion  Jews  were  a  conquered  people. 
The  nation  whose  humblest  citizen  was  proud  to  proclaim 
"Civis  Romanus  Sum"  was  the  victor.  Crucifixion  was  not  a 
Jewish  but  a  Roman  punishment.  Caiaphas,  the  High  Priest, 
did  not  hold  his  position  by  descent  nor  by  the  selection  of  the 
Jewish  people,  but  by  appointment  of  Rome.  Jesus  proclaimed 
himself  to  be  king  of  the  Jews.     Caesar,  however,  was  their  ruler. 

The  High  Priest,  like  modern  politicians,  desired  to  stand  well 
with  the  ruler  of  the  nation  and  dispenser  of  patronage.  He, 
therefore,  advocated  the  crucifixion  and  Jesus  was  brought  before 
Pirate  to  be  judged.  The  judge  asked  him,  "Art  Thou  the  king 
of  the  Jews?"  And  Jesus  answered,  "Thou  sayest. "  That 
answer  was  sufficient  to  adjudge  Jesus  guilty  of  treason  and  to 
pronounce  judgment  of  death.  Caiaphas  retained  his  position 
as  High  Priest  during  Pilate's  term  as  Governor.  The  next 
Roman  Governor,  Vitellius,  removed  him  from  office. 

Fourteen  hundred  years  later,  John  Huss,  a  Catholic  Priest, 
and  President  of  the  faculty  of  Theology  at  Prague,  attempted  to 
reform  the  clergy.  He  demanded  the  despoiling  of  the  churches 
of  useless  ornaments,  that  the  poor  might  be  clothed  and  fed. 
He  also  called  upon  the  secular  officers  to  hinder  and  punish  the 
open  vices  of  ecclesiastics.  For  this  he  was  condemned  as  a 
heretic  by  Rome  and  the  city  of  Prague  was  placed  under  ban 
so  long  as  he  would  remain  there.  In  1415,  at  the  demand  of 
the  High  Priest,  of  the  Catholic  church,  a  commission  of  three 
Bishops  was  formed  in  the  city  of  Constance  to  try  him.  The 
charges  against  him  were  that  he  was  teaching  the  doctrine  of 
Wycliffe,  that  he  was  encouraging  his  friends  to  resist  the  man- 
dates of  the  Archbishop  and  that  he  insisted  that  Jesus  and  not 


234  REMINISCENCES 

the  Pope  is  the  head  of  the  church  to  whom  ultimate  appeal  must 
be  made.  He  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  be  tied  to  a  stake 
and  burned  to  death.  At  the  stake,  he  was  summoned  to  abjure 
those  heresies  and  his  only  answer  was  a  prayer  using  the  words 
of  the  Psalm  of  David.  So  that  no  trace  should  be  left  of  him, 
his  ashes  were  thrown  in  the  river  Rhein. 

Huss  raised  Wyclimsm  to  the  dignity  of  a  religion  and  thus 
the  spirit  of  the  English  teacher  had  its  influence  on  the  reformed 
churches  of  Europe  embracing  millions  of  people  of  different 
nationalities. 

Yet  it  would  be  diffcult  to  find  among  all  those  followers  one 
person  whose  mind  is  so  warped  as  to  cause  him  to  hate  the 
Catholic  people  of  today  for  the  action  of  Catholic  priests  in 
Constance  in  the  year  1415. 

Although  the  hatreds  and  prejudices  arising  out  of  and  based 
upon  this  truth  of  history  have  long  since  burned  themselves  out 
and  died,  hatreds  and  prejudices  a  hundred  fold  more  cruel  and 
intense  against  the  Jews  continue  to  live  and  spread  their  poison- 
ous effects,  when  the  only  basis  for  their  existence  is  the  distorted 
story,  repeated  from  generation  to  generation,  concerning  the 
crucifixion. 

Anti-Semitism  cannot  be  cured  by  threats  and  force.  It  can 
only  be  cured  by  an  appeal  to  reason  and  justice.  To  succeed 
will  require  much  patience  and  hard  work. 

Are  we  or  our  children  after  us  in  any  danger  in  this  country? 
I  think  not,  but  it  is  well  to  remember  that  public  opinion  is 
plastic. 

You  are  all  familiar  with  the  prohibitionist:  The  legal  effect 
of  his  propaganda  is  apparent  in  the  anti-liquor  amendment  to 
the  Constitution.  But  has  it  not  also  an  ethical  reflection,  of 
especial  consequence  to  us  in  the  corollary  that  millions  of 
dollars  in  property  values  have  been  destroyed  quite  without 
compensation — a  sacrifice  to  the  majority's  conception  of  what 
is  for  its  good? 

Could  it  not  be  argued  that  the  rights  of  a  minority  have  been 
infringed,  particularly  as  for  generations  the  trade  had  been 
specifically  legalized  by  taxation? 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  expressing  an  opinion  of  the 
prohibition  legislation.  Nor  am  I  attempting  to  criticise  it.  I 
am  calling  attention  to  it  only  because  it  does  not  seem  to  me  a 
difficult  feat  of  imagination  to  substitute  ourselves,  or  any 
minority,  for  the  distillers  and  their  associates. 

Let  a  majority  be  convinced  that  a  minority  possesses  special 
rights  inimical  to  its  interests,  and  those  rights  will  be  taken 
away  with  at  least  a  show  of  justification,  irrespective  of  what 
they  may  be. 


THE  JEW  235 

A  majority  does  not  need  to  step  outside  the  law,  for  the  law- 
is  the  majority's  will.  What  the  majority  gives  it  can  take  away. 
The  crux  of  the  matter  is  the  majority's  pleasure. 

It  is  human  enough  to  ignore  signs  of  peril.  To  erect  the 
bulwarks  of  protection  is  often  a  tedious  and  arduous  task.  Yet 
they  must  be  erected  in  our  case,  because  who,  lacking  prophetic 
vision,  can  say  when  their  strength  will  be  tested? 

The  war  dwarfed  the  previous  financial  perceptions  of  every- 
one. Gigantic  funds  were  raised  from  all  quarters.  The  war  is 
over,  but  the  world  has  not  returned  to  its  ante-bellum  status; 
it  never  will. 

Our  organization  was  created  for  purposes  of  philanthropy 
and  fraternity,  and  we  have  made  a  record  of  which  we  have 
every  reason  to  be  proud.  Our  usefulness  will  remain  unimpaired 
provided  we  are  ready  to  meet  promptly  in  the  open  all  ques- 
tions as  they  arise  and  have  sufficient  means  to  meet  necessary 
expenses    connected     therewith. 

Our  financial  resources  for  work  that  has  to  be  done  are  woe- 
fully insufficient.  In  my  opinion,  the  work  our  Anti-Defama- 
tion League  is  doing  and  will  have  to  do  in  the  future  is 
among  the  most  important  of  our  activities.  The  dues  our  mem- 
bers pay,  even  if  increased  what  to  the  members  will  seem  a 
reasonable  amount,  will  be  insufficient  to  defray  necessary  ex- 
penses for  effective  work.  We  have  never  asked  for  financial 
assistance  outside  of  our  membership.  Other  organizations 
have  not  hesitated  so  to  do. 

Why  should  we  hesitate  to  appeal  for  funds  to  maintain  suc- 
cessfully work  which  is  of  interest  to  all?  Why  not  appeal  for 
contributions  to  men  and  women  who  adhere  to  those  principles 
of  justice  in  the  face  of  which  no  people  may  be  defamed  with- 
out cause;  who  believe  that  every  man  stands  or  falls  by  his 
own  virtues  or  iniquities  alone,  and  who  view  with  alarm  con- 
duct, individual  or  organized,  which  tends  to  overthrow  the  law 
and  seat  passion  and  prejudice  in  its  place? 

Let  the  League's  scope  be  international  and  non-sectarian; 
that  having  always  uppermost  in  mind  the  welfare  of  our 
own  co-religionists,  yet  it  render  aid  to  any  afflicted  people 
who  suffer  persecution  for  no  fault  of  their  own. 

That  the  best  talent  be  marshalled  in  the  activities  of  the 
League. 

That  it  strike  at  the  root  of  the  hatred  of  the  Jews  by  destroy- 
ing the  current  distorted  story  of  the  crucifixion,  besides  beat- 
ing to  earth  the  canards  and  slanders  which  are  nurtured  from 
that  source. 

That  the  battle  in  behalf  of  fair  play  be  carried  into  schools 
and  colleges,  where  lecturers,  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews,  versed  in 


236  REMINISCENCES 

the  history  of  our  race  and  its  traditions,  shall  speak  of  it  with 
sympathy  and  authority,  so  that  if  the  coming  generation  still 
lends  ear  to  our  traducers  it  will  not  be  for  lack  of  never  having 
heard  them  refuted.  No  attempt,  however,  must  be  made  at 
proselyting  or  turning  the  lecture  into  a  religious  one. 

That  the  League  enter  a  campaign  of  publicity  through  the 
publication  of  its  own  journal  and  through  such  other  mediums 
of  every  sort,  here  and  abroad,  as  it  is  able  to  sway. 

That  we  employ  the  best  talent  obtainable  to  write  for  and 
to  edit  our  journal,  that  the  same  be  enlarged;  that  an  attempt 
be  made  to  compete  with  the  best  periodicals  in  the  land,  so 
that  it  may  attract  to  itself  a  general  class  of  readers  without 
which  it  will  fail  to  serve  the  useful  purpose  to  which  it  should 
be  put.  It  is  not  nearly  as  important,  it  seems  to  me,  that  we 
should  inform  our  members  of  what  we  are  doing,  of  what  our 
hopes  and  aspirations  are,  as  it  is  that  members  of  other  creeds 
should  be  informed. 

I  recommend  that  in  raising  funds  for  this  work  we  follow  the 
example  of  our  enemies.  The  anti-Semites  of  Berlin  have  asked 
for  an  annual  contribution  of  six  marks.  For  what  purpose? 
To  tear  down,  to  destroy,  to  murder  our  people,  or  to  make  them 
fugitives  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  I  urge  that  we  appeal  for 
annual  contributions  to  enable  us,  not  to  tear  down,  but  to  build 
up;  not  to  murder,  but  to  save  human  life;  not  to  promote  the 
ultimate  in  human  misery  and  despair  by  arraying  neighbor 
against  neighbor  and  friend  against  friend,  but  to  beget  universal 
contentment  and  happiness  and  to  bring  nearer  that  sacred  hour 
when  there  shall  prevail  upon  earth  a  real  brotherhood  of  man. 

To  that  end  I  recommend  that  we  ask  our  members  as  well 
as  non-members  to  take  part  in  this  work  by  at  least  contributing 
annually  a  sum  commensurate  with  the  importance  of  the  work 
herein  proposed. 

It  is  for  you  to  decide.  And  the  time,  I  think,  is  at  hand. 
There  is  no  germ  more  virile  than  the  spirit  of  the  mob;  none 
more  quick,  more  ruthless.  And  once  aroused  to  havoc,  its 
spread  may  be  measured  only  by  the  number  of  receptive  organ- 
isms on  which  it  falls.  The  departure  from  our  policy  is  marked. 
But  to  my  mind  the  aim  is  worthy.  I  am  convinced  that  we 
have  it  in  our  power  to  write  for  the  Jews  everywhere  a  new  bill 
of  rights.  A  non-enforcible  bill,  it  is  true,  but  one  that  will  not 
need  to  be  enforced;  a  bill  founded  on  a  rock  of  mutual  under- 
standing and  respect. 

Today  we  may  elect  what  we  will  do.  Tomorrow  is  an  un- 
conjectured  possibility.  When  last  we  met  who  would  have 
ventured  to  predict  what  was  to  intervene  before,  our  next 
assemblage?     Who  ventures  now  to  say  what  five  years  hence 


THE  JEW  237 

shall  have  befallen  us?  More  than  a  century  ago  a  company  of 
Virginia  colonists  came  together  for  the  purpose  of  determining  a 
matter  which  concerned  their  destiny;  which  was  to  concern  the 
destiny  of  a  100,000,000  people,  including  yours  and  mine. 
There  were  of  that  number  those  who  would  have  turned  their 
backs  to  the  issue.  Are  there  any  here?  If  so,  may  I  revert  to 
our  text  books  for  the  answer: 

"They  tell  us,  sir,  that  we  are  weak,  unable  to  cope  with  so  formidable  an 
adversary.  But  when  shall  be  we  stronger?  Will  it  be  next  week  or  the  next 
year?  Will  it  be  when  we  are  totally  disarmed  and  when  a  .  .  .  guard 
shall  be  stationed  in  every  house? 

"Shall  we  gather  strength  by  irresolution  and  inaction?  Shall  we  acquire 
the  means  of  effectual  resistance  by  lying  supinely  on  our  backs  and  hugging 
the  delusive  phantom  of  hope,  until  our  enemies  shall  have  bound  us  hand 
and  foot? 

"Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a  proper  use  of  the  means  which  the 
God  of  nature  had  placed  in  our  power  .  .  .  The  battle,  sir,  is  not  to 
the  strong  alone;  it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the  brave.  Besides,  sir,  we 
have  no  election.  If  we  were  base  enough  to  desire  it,  it  is  now  too  late  to 
retire  from  the  contest.  .  .  .  Gentlemen  may  cry  peace,  peace — but 
there  is  no  peace.     The  war  is  actually  begun!" 

There  is  no  need  to  read  further  from  Patrick  Henry's  epic  of 
liberty.  We  have  not  as  yet  reached  the  extremity  where  we 
must  voice  the  immortal  challenge  of  his  closing  lines. 

Let  us  never  reach  it!  Let  us  meet  our  enemies  in  the  center 
of  the  field.  Let  ours  be  the  first  blow  for  righteousness  and 
justice.  And  let  us  assure  to  our  children  and  to  our  children's 
children,  and  to  the  children  of  all  oppressed  humanity,  the  full 
heritage  of  universal  tolerance  and  equality  which  ought  to  be 
theirs. 

And  while  appealing  to  non-Jews  for  fair  play,  let  us  do  like- 
wise to  our  own  people.  Let  each  one  of  us  always  bear  in  mind 
that  by  his  own  acts  he  must  refute  his  enemies  even  before  they 
assail  him.  He  must  be,  not  as  moral  as  the  average  non-Jew, 
but  more  moral;  for  his  conduct  must  establish  the  conviction 
universally  that  to  be  a  Jew  is  to  be  embodiment  of  the  best  in 
humanity. 

It  is  no  light  ambition;  your  fellow-men  will  know  you  for 
what  you  are,  no  matter  what  you  pretend  to  be.  But  once  the 
goal  has  been  achieved,  therein  is  complete  sanctuary.  None 
may  assail  you  unless  he  assails  the  enlightenment  of  all  races, 
and  in  that  unhappy  day,  civilization  may  be  expected  to  perish. 

I  am  now  preparing  a  report  of  the  doings  of  the 
Order  for  the  past  five  years  to  the  convention  which 
will  meet  in  Atlantic  City  in  1925.  That  there  will  be 
enough  work  for  my  successor  to  do,  however,  is  too 


238  REMINISCENCES 

clearly  obvious  when  we  pause  to  consider  that  in  our 
own  America  which  we  proudly  call  the  "Cradle  of 
Liberty,' '  and  which,  please  God,  may  never  forsake 
the  child  it  nurtured  and  made  strong,  a  man  com- 
manding unlimited  means  seems  to  use  anti-Semitism 
as  a  stepping  stone  to  the  presidency;  and  in  another 
land  monarchists  strive  by  the  same  means  to  restore 
a  monarchy;  when  false  protocols  of  an  alleged  Jewish 
organization  which  never  existed  and  numerous  false 
accusations  are  still  made  against  us.  All  this  we  must 
meet  in  a  calm  way.  The  great  majority  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  are  just  and  law  abiding,  and  so  long  as  the 
overwhelming  majority  of  our  people  keep  on  obeying 
the  law  and  aiding  in  its  enforcement,  they  will  be  safe 
in  America.  Our  conventions  meet  with  open  doors. 
The  press  and  every  one  who  may  desire  have  full  access 
and  may  listen  to  all  our  deliberations. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  answer  here  any  of  the  anti- 
Semitic  charges  made  against  our  Order.  I  prefer  to 
submit  the  testimony  of  those  who  have  occupied  the 
highest  places  of  authority  in  the  land. 

Ex-President  Roosevelt  wrote: 

II  Permit  me  to  extend  my  hearty  good  wishes  to  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  B'nai  B'rith  and  to  wish  it  all  success  in  continuing 
its  work,  in  strengthening  the  ties  between  man  and  man  and 
endeavoring  to  contribute  to  the  uplift  and  betterment  of  humani- 
ty. It  has  been  a  great  educational  and  enlightening  factor  in 
our  American  life." 

Ex-President  William  H.  Taft  wrote: 

II I  have  great  respect  for  the  Order  because  of  the  good  which 
it  has  done,  the  conservative  attitude  which  it  has  occupied,  the 
harmonizing  effect  it  has  had  upon  otherwise  discordant  elements 
and  the  general  world  fraternity  which  it  has  promoted.  It  is  a 
body  of  representative  American  citizens  that  -deserves  the 
approval  and  encouragement  of  all  their  fellow  citizens." 


THE  JEW  239 

Ex-President  Woodrow  Wilson  wrote : 

"I  follow  from  time  to  time  with  the  greatest  interest  the 
fine  work  of  the  Order,  work  which  undoubtedly  contributed  to 
the  uplift  and  betterment  of  the  nation,  and  I  have  been  particu- 
larly interested  in  the  work  of  education  and  philanthropy  and 
the  effort  to  destroy  the  provincialism  of  prejudice  as  between 
races." 

Ex- President  Warren  G.  Harding  wrote : 

"I  hope  that  all  America  will  catch  the  spirit  of  B'nai  B'rith 
in  campaigning  against  ignorance,  intolerance  and  defamation, 
against  all  the  movements  aimed  to  rend  the  concord  of  American 
citizenship.  Fraternity,  helpfulness  and  service  must  be  the 
abiding  purpose  of  our  people  and  the  compensations  that  come 
to  this  consciousness  of  helping  one's  fellowmen  contributes  more 
to  the  happiness  of  self  than  success,  distinction  and  all  the  other 
triumphs  of  life." 

President  Coolidge  wrote: 

11  For  a  long  time  I  have  been  quite  familiar  with  the  work  and 
purposes  of  B'nai  B'rith.  As  my  acquaintance  with  the  Order 
has  widened,  my  regard  for  its  high  aims  and  effective  methods 
has  increased.  Its  ideal  of  practical  usefulness  is  one  which 
cannot  be  too  earnestly  commended." 

Secretary  of  State,  Charles  E.  Hughes,  wrote: 

"  Permit  me  to  express  my  high  appreciation  of  the  important 
work  that  has  been  conducted  by  the  B'nai  B'rith.  Its  general 
philanthropic  and  social  service  program  and  its  activities  in 
connection  with  the  work  of  Americanization  entitle  it  to  the 
cordial  commendation  of  all  those  who  are  interested  in  the  im- 
provement of  our  civic  life." 

I  am  now  preparing  my  message  to  the  convention 
of  the  order  which  will  meet  in  April,  1925.  That  message 
will  conclude  as  follows:  "In  my  message  of  1910,1  said: 

'"Brightly,  more  luminous,  the  future  glows  with  promise  for 
our  Order.  It  cannot  fail  of  glorious  achievement,  for  it  is  the 
incarnation  of  a  spirit,  which  after  long  struggle  with  the  baser 
passions  of  men,  is  emerging  triumphant  from  the  conflict  and 
swiftly  now  it  is  rushing  through  the  world  and  teaching  all  men 
to  own  its  sway — the  spirit  of  the  brotherhood  of  man.' 


240  REMINISCENCES 

"A  short  four  years  after  that  message  was  written 
came  the  World  War  with  its  awful  destruction  of  life 
and  property;  its  terrible  consequences  in  human 
suffering;  its  train  of  consuming  hatreds  which  instead 
of  diminishing  seem  to  gather  intensity  as  time  goes  on. 
It  would  seem  almost  as  if  the  Spirit  of  the  Brother- 
hood of  Man  has  fled  affrighted  from  a  hopeless  world. 
But  the  angry  waves  continue  to  beat  upon  the  shore 
long  after  the  storm  at  sea  has  passed.  So  it  may  be 
also  that  after  the  fearful  storm  of  war  that  has  swept 
the  world  of  men  we  are  witnesses  merely  of  the  time 
required  for  the  passions  aroused  by  it  to  subside.  Is 
it  not  possible — nay,  even  probable — that  out  of  that 
fierce  conflict  in  which  civilization  itself  was  involved, 
have  come  better  understandings,  a  broader  sympathy 
for  the  legitimate  hopes  and  aspirations  of  both  nations 
and  individuals;  a  greater  tolerance  of  the  differences 
that  naturally  exist  among  men  and  among  peoples  in 
matters  of  faith  and  religion ;  a  more  general  willingness 
to  extend  to  all  others  the  right  which  every  man  de- 
sires for  himself — to  worship  his  Creator  in  his  own 
way  and  after  the  manner  of  his  people ;  a  more  general 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  heart  of  mankind  is 
much  the  same  the  world  over  in  its  strivings  and 
yearnings  for  better  things,  for  a  higher  development; 
and  a  better  spirit  of  cooperation  both  among  men  and 
among  nations  in  their  separate  efforts  to  uplift  them- 
selves and  mankind.  How  else  can  God's  purposes  be 
fulfilled? 

"And  after  all,  may  not  the  disaster  of  the  great 
World  War  have  served  a  deeper  purpose  than  we  are 
able  now  to  perceive  in  clearing  away  from  the  mental 
and  moral  vision  of  mankind,  the  clouds  of  doubt  and 


THE  JEW  241 

suspicion,  to  make  a  brighter  day  for  the  coming  of  the 
Spirit  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Man. 

"It  is  of  the  human  heart  to  hope.  And  so,  in  what 
must  in  nature  be  the  closing  years  of  a  somewhat 
active  life  with  its  many  hopes  and  its  many  disappoint- 
ments, I  hope.     And  so  I  believe." 

FINIS 


INDEX 

Adams,  Francis,  136,  138. 

Alschuler,  Samuel,  146-147. 

Altgeld,  John  P.,  97,  107-111. 

Anti-Defamation  League,  227-237. 

Barnes,  Albert  C,  136. 

Birthday,  Seventieth  of  the  author,  208. 

Blodget,  Judge,  94-95. 

Board  of  Education,  the  author  appointed  a  member,  50-51;  reappointed,  52; 
president,  53. 

Boris,  Grand  Duke,  172-174. 

Civil  Service  Commission,  115-146. 

Clark,  John  B.,  133,  135,  139. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  66-68. 

Corporation  Counsel,  the  author  appointed,  65;  and  Arthur  Burr  age  Farwell, 
68-69;  dealings  with  the  World's  Fair  Commissioners,  70;  the  case  of  the 
sewage  pumps,  72;  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  73;  the  Eighteenth  Street 
bridge,  74-75. 

Cregier,  W.  C,  57,  58-61,  63-64. 

Decoration,  conferred  on  author  by  Austrian  government,  80. 

Dunne,  Judge,  87,  136,  137,  139. 

Farwell,  Arthur  Burrage,  68. 

Felsenthal,  Ely,  89. 

Gartz,  Adolph  F.,  140,  143. 

Goggin,  James,  56-57. 

Goggin,  Judge,  86-89. 

Hanecy,  Eldridge,  96. 

Harding,  Warren,  G.,  216. 

Harrison,  Carter  H.,  47-50,  57,  58-66,  72,  73,  77. 

Harrison,  Carter,  Jr.,  100-101,  115. 

Hessing,  Washington,  63-64. 

Hirsh,  M.  M.,  29,  39,  77. 

Hirsh,  Matilda,  later  Mrs.  Adolf  Kraus,  27-28. 

Holden,  Charles  R.,  146-147. 

Hudek,  Prokop,  34-38. 

Hynes,  William  J.,  42-44. 

Independent  Order  of  B'nai  B'rith,  152;  the  author  nominated  for  president, 
154;  the  author  reelected,  155;  the  White  Slave  traffic,  178;  District  No.  io; 
179;  and  the  Associated  Press,  180;  organization  of  lodge  in  London,  188-190;, 
in  connection  with  abrogation  of  Russian  Treaty,  191-192;  and  Taft,  193-1981 
seventieth  anniversary,  196;  money  collected  for  relief  work,  198;  relief  in; 
Balkan  Slates,  198;  and  the  World  War,  201;  and  the  Peace  Conference,  20 
medal  to  Wilson,  203-205;  Anti-Defamation  League,  214,  227-237. 

Jaffa,  anti- Jewish  atrocities,  179. 

Kaspar,  William,  38-40,  52. 

Kelley,  Father,  73-74. 

King,  John  A.,  57-58. 

Kiolbassa,  Peter,  104-107. 

Kisheneff  Petition,  presented,  153. 

Kraus,  Albert,  son  of  the  author,  70. 

Kraus,  Jonas,  father  of  the  author,  4,  5. 

Kraus,  Ludmila  Ehrlich,  mother  of  the  author,  4-7. 

Kraus,  Marcus,  brother  of  the  author,  5,  10,  13-14. 

243 


244  INDEX 

Lawless,  Thomas  J.,  146-147. 

Lindblom,  Robert,  134,  143-145. 

London,  organization  of  B'nai  B'rith  lodge,  188-190. 

Martin,  Joe,  118-119. 

Macedonia,  correspondence  concerning  demands  on  the  Jews,  224. 

Mayer,  David,  46,  81. 

Mayer,  Levy,  46,  81-83,  91-94. 

Mexico,  reports  of  deportation,  221;  forged  passports,  221-223. 

Moran,  Thomas,  83-86. 

Moses,  Adolph,  91-94. 

Poland,  protest  to  envoy  in  Washington,  217-221. 

Prendegast,  Richard,  72,  91-94. 

Prendegast,  assassin  of  Mayor  Harrison,  76. 

Quinn  vs.  Goldberg,  40-42. 

Roumania,  anti-Semitic  movement,  175-177,  199,  206-207. 

Rubens,  Harry,  35-37,  172,  174-175. 

Russia,  anti- Jewish  excesses,  155,  162;  conference  with  Russian  envoy,  156-158; 

revolution,  159;  constitution  granted,  160-162;  funds  collected  to  aid  pogrom 

victims,  162-163;  rumored  pogrom,  iqo6,  164-166;  passport  difficulties,  190; 

conference  with  Taft,  191;  abrogation  of  Treaty,  191-192;  conditions  in  IQ19, 

213. 
Smith,  Abner,  84-86. 
Stein,  Philip,  27,  83,  86. 
Stein,  Simon,  23,  28. 
Swift,  George  B.,  115. 
Taft,  William  Howard,  190-198,  215. 
Taussig,  William,  27. 
Thornton,  Charles,  116,  120,  121,  123. 
Times,  Chicago,  newspaper,  100-104. 
Travels  in  the  South,  19-21. 
Truby,  Mrs.,  42-44. 
Trude,  A.  S.,  30,  58. 
Visits  to  European  Lodges;  Berlin,  181-183;  Prague,  184-187;  Pilsen,  187; 

Vienna,  188. 
Waller,  Robert  A.,  115. 
Walsh,  John  R.,  102-107. 
Washburne,  Hempstead,  60-61,  115,  138-139. 
Waterman,  Arba,  136-138. 
White  Slave  Traffic,  177-179. 
Wilson,  Woodrow,  199,  201-206. 
Winston,  Dudley,  115,  133,  134,  139,  140-143. 
Witte,  Count,  156-159,  162,  164-172. 
Zeisler,  Sigmund,  65,  92. 


